Long term outcomes of Cohen’s cross trigonal reimplantation for primary vesicoureteral reflux in poorly functioning kidney

BACKGROUND: Open ureteric reimplantation by cross trigonal technique described by Cohen is considered a common surgical option for correction of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). There is a lack of evidence in literature though for what happens to such kidneys, in the long run, particularly those which are poorly functioning. AIM: To assess the long-term outcomes of ureteric reimplantation in poorly functioning kidneys in children with unilateral primary VUR. METHODS: Children with unilateral primary VUR and a relative renal function of less than 35% who underwent open or laparoscopic ureteric reimplantation between January 2005 and January 2017 were included in the study. Patients who had a follow up of less than five years were excluded. Preoperative evaluation consisted of a voiding cystourethrogram and Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scan. In the follow-up period, patients underwent a diuretic scan at 6 weeks and 6 months. Follow up ultrasound was done for change in grade of hydronephrosis and retrovesical ureteric diameter. Subsequent follow up was done at 6 monthly intervals with evaluation for proteinuria and hypertension and any recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI). For assessment of cortical function, DMSA was repeated annually for 5 years after surgery. A paired-samples t-test was used to test the mean difference of DMSA between pre-post observations. RESULTS: During this period, 36 children underwent ureteric reimplantation for unilateral primary VUR. After excluding those with insufficient follow-up, 31 were included in the analysis. Most of the patients were males (n = 26/31, 83.8%). Patient’s age (mean ± SD, range) was 5.21 ± 3.71, 1-18 years. The grades of VUR were grade II (1 patient), grade III (8 patients), grade IV (10 patients), and grade V (12 patients). The pre and postoperative DMSA was 24.064 ± 12.02 and 24.06 ± 10.93, which was almost the same (statistically equal, paired-samples t-test: P = 0.873). The median (range) follow-up duration was 82 (60-120) mo. One patient had persistent reflux after surgery (preoperative: grade IV, postoperative: grade III), and the very same patient developed recurrent UTI. The difference in the preoperative and postoperative DRF was less than 10% in 29 patients. In one patient, the DRF decreased by 17% (22% to 05%) while in another patient, the DRF increased by 12% (25% to 37%) after surgery. None of the patients had an increase in scarring after surgery. 15% of patients were hypertensive before surgery and all of them continued to be hypertensive after surgery while none developed hypertension after surgery. None of the patients had significant proteinuria (> 150 mg/d) during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Children with unilateral primary VUR and poorly functioning kidney maintain the renal function over the long term in most cases. Hypertension and proteinuria do not progress over time in these patients.