Use of cystoscopy or cystourethroscopy in treating benign macroscopic hematuria caused by lower urinary tract hemorrhage in three dogs.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 5-year-old 11.5-kg (25.3-lb) castrated male Boston Terrier (dog 1), an 8-year-old 27.8-kg (61.2-lb) castrated male Boxer (dog 2), and a 10.5-year-old 15.9-kg (35.0-lb) spayed female Pembroke Welsh Corgi (dog 3) were evaluated because of severe, gross hematuria and suspected idiopathic renal hematuria.

CLINICAL FINDINGS: All 3 dogs had hematuria, anemia, blood clots in their urinary bladders, and unremarkable findings on coagulation and mucosal bleeding time assessments. With cystourethroscopy, lower urinary tract hemorrhage originating from a small lesion in the urinary bladder (n = 2) or urethra (1) and normal-appearing yellow urine jetting from both ureterovesicular junctions were visualized in each dog.

TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Cystoscopically guided surgical resection of a hemorrhagic lesion of the urinary bladder was performed on dog 1, and histologic evaluation of the resected tissue confirmed urinary bladder telangiectasia. Dogs 2 and 3 each underwent cystourethroscopically guided laser ablation of a hemorrhagic lesion (presumptively diagnosed as hemangioma, angioma, or telangiectasia) in the urinary bladder (dog 2) or urethra (dog 3). The longest follow-up duration was 7 years, and none of the 3 dogs had subsequent recurrence of gross hematuria.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings suggested that cystourethroscopy should be considered part of the diagnostic plan for hematuria in dogs before pursuing major surgical treatment or when results of conventional diagnostic procedures do not indicate the underlying cause. In addition, histologic results for dog 1 indicated urinary bladder telangiectasia, previously an unreported cause of severe, chronic lower urinary tract hematuria in dogs.