The efficacy of ureteroscopic triage in increasing the cure rate of the first-line treatment for a ureterovaginal fistula resulting from radical hysterectomy

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of pretreatment with ureteroscopic triage for iatrogenic ureterovaginal fistula (UVF) resulting from radical hysterectomy. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Department of gynecology at a tertiary medical center. PATIENTS: Women diagnosed with UVF secondary to radical hysterectomy at our center between April 2008 to June 2018. INTERVENTIONS: The patients were divided into two groups according to whether pretreatment with ureteroscopic triage was performed. Those in the non-triage group underwent retrograde placement of a double-J stent immediately following diagnosis as the first-line therapy. Patients in the triage group were first evaluated under ureteroscopy, their ureteral injuries were then classified into different grades and then underwent different treatments as the first-line therapy, including stent placement or reconstruction surgeries. The cure rate of the first-line therapy and the timeliness of the implementation of adjuvant radiotherapy were subsequently analyzed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Ninety-eight UVF patients were included. The demographics, ECOG status, stage of cervical cancer (FIGO 2009), types and onset time of symptoms were not different between the two groups. There were 54 patients in the nontriage group, with an overall first-line cure rate of 70.4% and a timely implementation rate of adjuvant radiotherapy of 38.5%. There were 44 patients in the evaluation group, with an overall first-line cure rate of 93.2% and a timely implementation rate of adjuvant radiotherapy of 90.0%. The differences were statistically significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Ureteroscopic triage of ureteral injuries can guide the selection of the optimal first-line therapy for patients with UVF secondary to radical hysterectomy, increase the cure rate and ensure the timely implementation of adjuvant radiotherapy.