The goal of treatment is to relieve the blockage, which will allow urine to drain from the urinary tract. You may need to stay in a hospital for a short while.

Short-term treatment may include:

• Antibiotics and other medications to treat symptoms
• Catheterization-- the placement of a tube into the body to drain urine (See: Urinary catheters)

Long-term treatment involves correcting the cause of the blockage. This may involve:

• Surgery such as transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP)
• Laser or heat therapy to shrink the prostate if the problem is due to an enlarged prostate

Surgery may also be needed for other disorders that cause blockage of the urethra or bladder neck.

If the acute obstruction is quickly relieved, symptoms usually go away within hours to days. If untreated, the disorder causes progressive damage to the kidneys. It may eventually lead to high blood pressure or kidney failure.

• Acute kidney failure
• Chronic bilateral obstructive uropathy
• High blood pressure
• Reflux nephropathy
• Urinary tract infection
• Urinary retention or incontinence

Call your health care provider if you have decreased urine output, difficulty urinating, flank pain, or other symptoms of acute bilateral obstructive uropathy.