Ureterocutaneostomy: for whom and when?

Total extra-peritoneal approach to radical cystectomy with ureterostomy: A novel technique for the elderly and frail

OBJECTIVES

Radical cystectomy with urinary diversion is the gold standard treatment for bladder cancer (high-risk/muscle invasive). The transperitoneal approach is associated with significant gastrointestinal complications like ileus. In the elderly and frail with a single functional kidney, we describe an extraperitoneal technique of radical cystectomy, with a ureterostomy, to be performed without general anesthesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The elderly, frail, and high-risk candidates for general anesthesia, with a prior history of nephroureterectomy with a second primary muscle-invasive bladder cancer, were chosen. All patients underwent the described procedure under combined spinal and epidural anesthesia. The posterior dissection was retrograde, caudal to cranial, with the peritoneum being opened only for resection of the dome. A cutaneous ureterostomy was fashioned on the side of the functional kidney. Peri-operative parameters were assessed for early recovery in this high-risk group.

RESULTS

The mean age was 82 years (range: 73-91), with Charleson Comorbidity Index 5, and were all deemed unfit for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. With a median duration of 127.5 minutes, an average blood loss of 225ml, and no patient requiring general anesthesia; early ambulation, early return of bowel function, and a lesser hospital stay (7 days) with minimal morbidity were achieved. Negative surgical margins were achieved in all cases, with a mean harvest of 29 lymph nodes. Only 1 patient developed stomal stenosis. The cause-specific survival (CSS) is 100% at 2 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The highlighting features are the early return of bowel function (flatus passage on day 1) and the avoidance of the cardio-pulmonary complications of general anesthesia. The extraperitoneal cystectomy offers a promising alternative in this select group and warrants further studies to extrapolate this technique for bilateral urinary drainage.

Flexible ureteroscopy with ultrasound guidance for the treatment of parapelvic renal cysts: A complementary approach for locating the cystic wall

Background

Flexible ureteroscopic incision and drainage is a relatively new surgical method for treating parapelvic cysts. Considering that the intraoperative localization of the cyst may fail with a flexible ureteroscope, we use an innovative ultrasound-guided method to locate the cystic wall during flexible ureteroscopic surgery.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 17 consecutive cases of parapelvic renal cysts treated by ultrasound-guided flexible ureteroscopy between March 2017 and May 2020. The differences between the simple flexible ureteroscopic technique and ultrasound-guided flexible ureteroscopic technique were compared. The surgical procedures, postoperative complications, results and patient follow-ups were evaluated.

Results

The cyst wall was seen clearly in 10 patients with ureteroscopic vision. Another 7 patients underwent ultrasound-guided flexible ureteroscopic surgery since it was difficult to identify the cyst wall. The mean operative time was 25.9 ± 8.7 min and 37.1 ± 10.1 min for the conventional and modified techniques, respectively (P = 0.004); the mean time to search for cysts was 17.6 ± 5.8 min and 26.5 ± 8.4 min, respectively (P = 0.002); and the mean incision time was 7.1 ± 4.9 min and 12.1 ± 5.6 min, respectively (P = 0.000). All of the patients were followed-up for 12 months, and no serious complications or recurrence were observed.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that it is feasible and safe to treat parapelvic renal cysts by ultrasound-guided flexible ureteroscopic incision and drainage. The small sample size and need for further studies were the limitations of our work.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12894-022-00960-6.

Constructing artificial urinary conduits: current capabilities and future potential

INTRODUCTION

Intestinal segments are currently used in reconstructive urology to create urinary diversion after cystectomy. Ileal conduit (IC) is the dominant type of urinary diversion. Nevertheless, IC is not an ideal solution as the procedure still requires entero-enterostomy to restore the bowel continuity. This step is a source of relevant complications that might prolong recovery time. Fabrication of artificial urinary conduit is a tempting idea to introduce an alternative form of urinary diversion which might improve cystectomy outcomes.

AREAS COVERED

The aim of this review is to discuss available research data about artificial urinary conduit and identify major challenges for future studies.

EXPERT OPINION

Fabrication of artificial urinary conduit is in range of current tissue engineering technology but there are still many challenges to overcome. There is an urgent need for studies to be conducted on large animal models with long follow up to expose the limitation of experimental strategies and to gather data for translational research.

A modified cutaneous ureterostomy provides satisfactory short and midterm outcomes in select cases

OBJECTIVE

We present the outcomes of modification of cutaneous ureterostomy by extreme lateralization of the stoma and use of skin flap for formation of ureterostomy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Between June 2012 and June 2016, 36 patients had modified cutaneous ureterostomy for ureteral obstruction due to pelvic malignancy or genitourinary tuberculosis. Transureteroureterostomy was made with cutaneous stoma at anterior axillary line between iliac crest and lower rib cage, instead of spinoumbilical line. To prevent stenosis a 'V' shaped skin was fed into the stoma. Double J stents were used in all patients for 6 weeks. Perioperative morbidity and mortality were evaluated. All patients were followed up at 3 month intervals.

RESULTS

Of 36 patients, 22 had radical cystoprostatectomy (including nephroureterectomy in 2 patients) and 7 had palliative cystectomy. Others had locally advanced prostate cancer (n=1), locally advanced cervical cancer (n=3), ovarian cancer (n=1) and genitourinary tuberculosis with small capacity bladder along with a large vesicovaginal fistula (n=1). One patient developed ureteral necrosis requiring conversion to ileal conduit. Three patients developed stomal stenosis: two were managed by self-dilatation while one required revision of stoma. Thirteen patients died of the disease at a median follow up of 6 months with functioning stoma. Remaining 19 patients survived without any complications at a median follow-up of 20.5 months (5.5-43.5 months). None of the patients had any problem related to ureterostomy bag application.

CONCLUSION

Modified lateral cutaneous ureterostomy provides relatively straighter and shorter retroperitoneal course of ureter with acceptable morbidity and avoids use of bowel in selected patients.

The application of wrapping ureter by a pedicled gastrocolic omentum flap combined with an artificial external scaffold to prevent stoma stenosis in rabbit after ureterocutaneostomy

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the feasibility and possibility of wrapping ureter by a pedicled gastrocolic omentum flap combined with an artificial ureter external scaffold to prevent stoma stenosis in rabbit after ureterocutaneostomy.

METHODS

Forty male New Zealand rabbits were involved in this study. For application of ureterocutaneostomy, the right ureter was wrapped by a pedicled gastrocolic omentum flap and combined with application of an artificial external scaffold, which served as experimental side. Traditional ureterocutaneostomy was applied in left ureter (control side). All rabbits were killed after 1 month, and the kidney, ureter and abdominal segment ureter were collected to study the morphological and pathological changes by using HE staining, Masson staining, immunohistochemistry staining and microvessel density (MVD) study.

RESULTS

HE staining showed that renal medullary tubular dilatation, large number of collagen deposition, renal glomerular and renal tubular atrophy. Glomerular vascular leaves and interstitial fibrosis were detected in the kidney of control side. However, these abnormities in the kidney of experimental side were significantly alleviated compared to control side. The hydronephrosis and ureterectasia in the experimental side were dramatically attenuated compared to control side. Fibrosis in ureter around stoma and stoma stenosis were prevented by wrapping ureter by a pedicled gastrocolic omentum flap combined with an artificial external scaffold.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we have demonstrated that wrapping ureter by a pedicled gastrocolic omentum flap combined with an artificial external scaffold is capable of preventing stoma stenosis in rabbit after ureterocutaneostomy, which provided a new method and theoretical basis for clinical application in the future.

Evaluation of the improved tubeless cutaneous ureterostomy technique following radical cystectomy in cases of invasive bladder cancer complicated by peritoneal metastasis

Radical cystectomy, as the most common surgical treatment for patients with invasive bladder cancer (IBC) complicated by peritoneal metastasis, is usually accompanied by a urinary diversion procedure. In this study, we evaluated the improved tubeless cutaneous ureterostomy technique by comparing the resulting clinical effects with either a traditional ureterostomy and an ileal conduit urinary diversion. Clinical data from 85 patients who underwent 1 of the 3 procedures between April 2012 and April 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. In total, 30 patients underwent improved tubeless cutaneous ureterostomy, 28 patients underwent a traditional cutaneous ureterostomy and 27 underwent an ileal conduit urinary diversion following radical cystectomy. The incidence of complications, including stoma infection, nipple atrophy, terminal necrosis, urine leakage, external orifice stenosis, uronephrosis and ureterectasia in the group of patients treated with the improved tubeless ureterostomy technique was significantly lower than that of the patients in the other 2 groups, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). In addition, the duration of the surgery, intra-operative bleeding, the duration of the hospitalization period and the time to extubation in the patients treated with the improved tubeless ureterostomy technique were significantly decreased (P<0.05) compared with the patients in the other 2 groups. Finally, the health-related quality of life of the patients treated with the improved tubeless ureterostomy technique was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of the patients in the other 2 groups. The findings of our study demonstrated that the use of the improved tubeless cutaneous ureterostomy technique following radical cystectomy in patients with IBC complicated by peritoneal metastasis resulted in improved clinical effects. Thus, improved tubeless cutaneous ureterostomy may be a promising alternative for enhancing the quality of life of patients with IBC.