SAFETY OF TRANSURETHRAL SURGERY IN THE EARLY POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD FOLLOWING AN OPEN CARDIAC PROCEDURE

A retrospective investigation was performed to determine whether patie nts undergoing transurethral surgery soon after cardiac surgery experi enced increased morbidity or mortality rates. From 1986 to 1990, 24 pa tients first underwent open heart surgery and then either transurethra l prostatectomy, bladder tumor resection or bladder cup biopsy during the same hospital stay. Postoperative complications included significa nt hematuria in 2 patients (8%), mild stress incontinence in 1 (4%) an d bladder perforation in 1. One patient died of a spontaneous pneumoth orax 17 days after the urological operation. None of these patients ha d had a previous myocardial infarction. The outcome of these patients was compared to that of 115 men who underwent transurethral prostatect omy for presumed benign disease during 1990. Complications of transure thral prostatectomy in this group included significant gross hematuria in 5 men, while 6 experienced urinary retention (1), atrial fibrillat ion (1), delirium (1), myocardial infarction (1), seizure (1) and intr aoperative urethral injury (1). There was 1 death from multiple postop erative complications. Morbidity and mortality rates did not differ si gnificantly between the 2 groups. Transurethral surgery performed afte r cardiac surgery during the same hospital stay appears to be safe, pr ovided the patient is stable.