Evaluation of the clinical value of retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyeloplasty in the treatment of ureteropelvic junction obstruction in infants: A single-center experience involving 22 consecutive patients

Retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyeloplasty (RLP) is 1 method for treating ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) in children, but reports are more common in children than in infants younger than 2 years old. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of RLP for infants with UPJO. From January 2015 to December 2017, a retrospective analysis of 22 infants aged 2 to 24 (11.95 ± 6.00) months with UPJO who were treated with RLP in our hospital was performed. During the same period, 14 infants who underwent conventional transperitoneal laparoscopic pyeloplasty (TLP) were compared with those who underwent RLP. Postoperative recovery and complications, including bleeding, infection, urinary leakage and anastomotic stenosis, postoperative resumption of oral feeding, postoperative hospitalization time and surgical success rate were evaluated. Drainage and function were assessed with isotope scan at 6 months and later during the yearly follow-up and by intravenous urography (IVU) and mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) renography. Both groups underwent successful surgery. The operative time in the RLP group was 88 to 205 (120.59 ± 24.59) min, and there was no significant difference compared with the TLP group (P = .767). The estimated intraoperative blood loss was 2 to 10 (3.75 ± 1.59) ml, which was not significantly different between the 2 groups (P = .386). In the RLP group, the mean postoperative resumption of oral feeding was faster than that in the TLP group (3.55 ± 0.74 vs 5.50 ± 0.85 hour, P < .001), and the postoperative hospitalization time was shorter in the TLP group than in the RLP group (6.59 ± 0.50 vs 7.07 ± 0.47 day, P = .007 < .05). Follow-up lasted from 6 months to 3 years, and there was a significant reduction in postoperative hydronephrosis in both groups (P < .05, respectively). RLP is a safe procedure for infants. This procedure is associated with relatively little trauma, a quick recovery and good cosmetic effects. RLP also has the advantages of relatively little interference with the abdominal cavity and sufficient operating space; thus, this technique is worth promoting.