Surgical views: Surgical treatment of urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence in dogs.

Urinary incontinence--loss of voluntary control over the retention and expulsion of urine--is a common medical problem in small animal patients. Incontinence occur when pressure within the bladder exceeds urethral pressure. Incontinence may result from a variety of etiologies, including congenital anatomic abnormalities of the lower urinary and reproductive systems (ureter, bladder, bladder neck, urethra, vagina,vestibule) as well as neurologic, neoplastic, infectious, and inflammatory disease.