Preserved Voluntary Micturition Control despite Early Urinary Diversion in Infancy—A Clue to a New Strategy

Micturition is an involuntary process based on spinal arcs in infants and children until a defined age. The awareness and voluntary control of voiding depends on specific areas in the central nervous system, especially cortical regions. The cells and connections between these areas develop over time and regulate the voiding process. The ability to maintain continence and to adjust physiological needs to appropriate environmental conditions is considered to be acquired through systematic behavioral education, especially toilet training. The recommendations specify the age at which to start establishing the relevant habits. The purpose of these guidelines is to achieve proper micturition control development and to avoid functional lower urinary tract (LUT) disorders. We present a case of a patient who underwent complete urinary diversion in infancy and reconstruction of the urinary tract eleven years later. For eleven years, she had an empty bladder and no toilet training. After undiversion, she regained full continence in a short space of time. The presence of proper LUT function and a controlled micturition process raises the question of the standard toilet training recommendations’ validity. The aim of our work focuses on the following question: Is toilet training the only way to achieve micturition skills and proper urinary tract function? The history of our patient and the literature reveal that voluntary micturition may develop without stimulating signals of filling from bladder receptors and independently of recommended behavioral education, so toilet training seems to not be necessary