Treatment of fragmented and severely encrusted ureteral double-J stent forgotten for 11 years through multimodal endourological methods

Ureteral catheters are frequently used in urology clinics for intrinsic or extrinsic pathologies which cause ureteral obstruction to provide urinary drainage from the kidney to the bladder. With the increase in stent use, an increase is observed in complications occurring due to ureteral stents in direct proportion with this increase, and ureteral double-J (DJ) stents forgotten in the urinary system are observed commonly in urological cases when the patients do not refer to a health institution in this condition and may cause severe problems, such as infection, stent fragmentation, migration, kidney failure, encrustation, and hydronephrosis conditions. A 30-year-old male patient referred to our clinic with right-side pain, dysuria, and incontinence complaints. It was learned that the patient had endoscopic stone surgery due to right ureteral stone and kidney stone 11 years before the presentation. In the imaging methods of the patient, it was observed that the DJ stent forgotten had separated into three parts, and stones were observed in the right ureter. Cystoscopy was made under general anesthesia. The torn distal end of DJ stent was observed in distal urethra. The foreign object was removed with forceps. Then with ureterorenoscope, the stones integrated with the stent at the end of the piece of DJ stent in the ureter were fragmented with pneumolithotriptor. Stone pieces and the second removed part of the stent were extracted with foreign object forceps. Then using nephroscope through percutaneous intervention, the stones at the end of the third torn piece of DJ stent were fragmented with pneumolithotriptor. They were extracted with forceps. After DJ stent installation, each patient should be checked by giving required information and told that the stent must be removed. In cases with forgotten stents and complications, the stents should be removed with suitable medical, endourological, or minimally invasive surgical methods taking care to protect kidney functions.