Early Versus Delayed Double J Stent Removal in Deceased Donor Renal Transplant Recipients: A Prospective Comparative Study

Introduction: Prophylactic ureteric stents have been commonly employed to reduce the incidence of ureteric obstruction and anastomotic leaks following renal transplantation. There are very few studies on the duration of ureteric stenting in deceased donor renal transplantation (DDRT). We performed a prospective study to compare early and late double J stent removal in DDRT. Aims and methods: The aim of this study was to compare the early and delayed removal of ureteric stents after DDRT. We performed 80 DDRTs at our center from August 2012 to December 2016, which were included in the study. However, we enrolled 48 patients as the remaining had to be excluded based on the high-risk factors. The recipients were allocated on the 14th postoperative day to two groups. Group 1 underwent early stent removal on the fourteenth postoperative day and in group 2, the stent was removed in the sixth postoperative week. The two groups were followed up for six months and the incidence of urological complications and urinary tract infections (UTI) was compared. Results: The incidence of UTI during the follow-up period of six months was significantly lower in the early stent removal group (two out of 24) than in delayed stent removal group (eight out of 24) (p=0.016). Asymptomatic bacteriuria occurred in six out of 24 (25%) in group 1 and 10 out of 24 (41.6%) in group 2 (p=0.120). There was no significant difference in the incidence of urinary leak, hematuria, or ureteric obstruction between the two groups (p=0.900). However, stent-related symptoms were significantly more in the delayed stent removal group (three in group 1 versus 18 in group 2) (p=0.001). Conclusion: Prolonged stenting is associated with an increased risk of UTI and stent-related symptoms in immunosuppressed renal transplant recipients. The early removal of double J stents can be done in carefully selected patients to reduce stent-related complications in DDRT.