Pediatric Posterior Urethral Valves (PUV)

What is Pediatric Posterior Urethral Valves (PUV)?

Posterior urethral valves (PUV) is when the valves of the urethra are blocked, which doesn’t allow urine to flow normally. Instead, reverse flow of the urine occurs and can affect all of the child’s urinary tract organs, including the urethra, bladder, ureters (tubes that drain urine from the kidneys to the bladder) and kidneys. These organs swell with urine, which causes tissue and cell damage.

What are the signs and symptoms of Pediatric Posterior Urethral Valves (PUV)?

Symptoms – which can range from mild to severe – of PUV include:

• Bedwetting or daytime wetting (in potty trained children)
• Difficulty urinating
• Enlarged bladder, which may be detectable through the abdomen as a large mass
• Pain when urinating
• Urinary frequency
• Urinary tract infection (UTI)
• Weak urine stream

What are the causes of Pediatric Posterior Urethral Valves (PUV)?

PUV occurs during fetal development, and it is the most common cause of severe urinary tract obstruction in children. The cause is generally unknown, but genetics do seem to play a role.