Ureteral Avulsion during Semirigid Ureteroscopy: A Single-Centre Experience

AIMS: The aim of the study is to present our experience with the management of ureteral avulsions following semirigid ureteroscopy for ureteral stones. This is one of the largest series reported so far. METHODS AND MATERIALS: It is a retrospective and observational study done at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research over the last 18 years. RESULTS: There were seven cases of ureteral avulsion following semirigid ureteroscopy. All patients were males with a mean age of 35.7 years. All had impacted stones, with proximal ureteric location in 6 patients and distal ureteric location in 1 patient. Five cases had two-point avulsions with loss of entire ureter. Two cases had one-point avulsion: one distal ureteric and the other mid-ureteric. Of the five cases with whole length ureteral avulsion, four were managed by classical ileal replacement of ureter and the the fifth case was managed by ileal replacement of ureter by the Yang–Monti technique. Of the two cases with one-point avulsion, one was managed by uretero-neocystostomy and the other by uretero-ureterostomy. All the patients had successful outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Even though rare, ureteral avulsion can potentially happen especially when dealing with impacted ureteric stones. Being conscious of the possible occurrence of this serious complication during any difficult ureteroscopy and exercising utmost care during the procedure are important preventive measures. However, this catastrophe can be successfully managed by either immediate definitive repair or in a staged manner.