Minimally invasive open dismembered pyeloplasty technique: Miniature incision, muscle-splitting dissection, and nopelvis reduction in children

Latitudes and attitudes: A multinational study of laparoscopic pyeloplasty in children

PURPOSE

The Anderson-Hynes technique has been the treatment of choice for primary ureteropelvic junction obstruction in children. Laparoscopic approach has shown similar outcomes to open, with advantages of shorter hospital stay and less pain. We reviewed the experience of 11 geographically diverse, tertiary pediatric urology institutions focusing on the outcomes and complications of laparoscopic pyeloplasty.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A descriptive, retrospective study was conducted evaluating patients undergoing Anderson-Hynes dismembered laparoscopic pyeloplasty. Centers from four different continents participated. Demographic data, perioperative management, results, and complications are described.

RESULTS

Over a 9-year period, 744 laparoscopic pyeloplasties were performed in 743 patients. Mean follow-up was 31 months (6-120m). Mean age at surgery was 82 months (1 w-19 y). Median operative time was 177 min. An internal stent was placed in 648 patients (87%). A catheter was placed for bladder drainage in 702 patients (94%). Conversion to open pyeloplasty was necessary in seven patients. Average length of hospital stay was 2.8 days. Mean time of analgesic requirement was 3.2 days. Complications, according to Clavien-Dindo classification, were observed in 56 patients (7.5%); 10 (1%) were Clavien-Dindo IIIb. Treatment failure occurred in 35 cases with 30 requiring redo pyeloplasty (4%) and 5 cases requiring nephrectomy (0.6%).

CONCLUSION

We have described the laparoscopic pyeloplasty experience of institutions with diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. They had very similar outcomes, in agreement with previously published data. Based on these findings, we conclude that laparoscopic pyeloplasty is safe and successful in diverse geographics areas of the world.

Comparative analysis of suturing technique in pediatric pyeloplasty on surgical outcomes

PURPOSE

Pyeloplasty for ureteropelvic junction obstruction is the gold standard for surgical repair. There are currently no reports outlining optimal suturing technique. This paper compares the effect of suturing technique in dismembered pediatric pyeloplasty (open and laparoscopic) on post-operative outcomes.

METHODS

A non-concurrent cohort study assessed different suturing techniques in both open and laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty performed two senior urologists at a tertiary referral pediatric center. Cases were stratified according to different suturing techniques for ureteropelvic anastomosis and subgroup analysis was performed according to open or laparoscopic approach.

RESULTS

A total of 185 renal units were evaluated. The overall comparative analysis of different anastomotic suturing techniques and clustered analysis according to open and laparoscopic approach showed no significant differences on post-operative complication rate, leakage, stenosis, redo-pyeloplasties, operative time and hospital stay. There was a significant difference between suturing techniques on stent duration, age and weight of the patient. There was no effect of suture type or size on post-operative complication rate, leakage, UPJ stenosis and redo pyeloplasty rates, however, sample sizes were small.

CONCLUSION

Suturing technique has no significant effect on the surgical outcomes assessed regardless of open or laparoscopic technique.

A novel method for estimating the urine drainage time from the renal collecting system

PURPOSE

Partial obstruction of the upper urinary tract is a common urological pathology that leads to progressive atrophy and dysfunction of the kidney. Most methods for evaluating the urine drainage rate, to assess the severity of partial obstruction, involve injection of markers into the blood stream and therefore the filtration rate from the blood effects the drainage rate. This study presents a novel method for assessing the drainage rate from the upper urinary tract by analyzing sequential fluoroscopic images from a routine nephrostogram, in which contrast material is introduced directly into the renal collecting system.

METHODS

Fluoroscopic images from 36 nephrostograms, following percutaneous nephrolithotomy, were retrospectively evaluated, 19 with a dilated renal pelvis. A radiological model for calculating the radiopacity of the renal pelvis, which reflects the amount of contrast material in each sequential image, was developed. Using this model, an algorithm was designed for generating a drainage curve and calculating the "drainage time" t_1/2 in which half of the contrast material has drained from the renal pelvis.

RESULTS

Analysis of images of a step-wedge phantom made of an increasing number of contrast material layers showed that the calculated radiopacity of each step was proportional to the amount of contrast material, independent of the background attenuation. Analysis of the nephrostograms showed that the drainage curves highly fitted an exponential function (R = 0.961), with a significantly higher t_1/2 for dilated cases.

CONCLUSION

The developed method may be used for a quantitative and accurate estimation of the urine drainage rate.

Minimally invasive open pyeloplasty in children: Long-term follow-up

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to report the long-term follow-up for minimally invasive open pyeloplasty in children.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 213 children with a mean age 16.33 months underwent miniature open pyeloplasty for ureteropelvic junction obstruction between January 2010 and May 2016. Anderson-Hynes dismembered pyeloplasty was performed through a subcostal miniature incision. The intraoperative and postoperative parameters including surgical operative time, incision size, intraoperative blood loss volume, postoperative analgesic use, hospital stay, complications, and success rate were documented.

RESULTS

The mean surgery time was 65 min (50-85 min), and incision size was 16.99 mm (12-36 mm). None of the patients required blood transfusion or narcotic analgesics in the postoperative period. The mean hospital stay was 21.97 h (10-48 h). Minor side effects included urinary tract infection (3.8%) and urinary leakage in one case (0.004%). Major complications were not observed. The mean antero-posterior pelvic diameter before and after surgery was 28.69 ± 11.54 mm and 15.89 ± 9.29 mm, respectively with a mean difference of 12.78 mm, which shows a significant decrease (P value = 0.001). The success rate was 98.1% with a mean follow-up of 21.43 months (3-56 months). Two of the recurrences occurred in the first postoperative year, another one after 1.5 years, and the last one after 4 years.

CONCLUSION

Our study confirms minimally invasive open pyeloplasty in children as a safe and efficient procedure with the least complication and hospital stay rate in comparison with other minimally invasive techniques. Moreover, long-term follow-up is a requirement in pyeloplasty surgery.