Perioperative and long-term surgical complications for the Indiana pouch and similar continent catheterizable urinary diversions.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article summarizes recent evidence describing perioperative and long-term surgical complications of the Indiana pouch and similar continent catheterizable urinary diversions.

RECENT FINDINGS: The perioperative morbidity and long-term complications are better defined in recent literature describing the Indiana and similar pouches. Both perioperative and long-term surgical complications for the Indiana and similar pouches are extremely variable between studies, but ranges between 1-32% and 6-69%, respectively. Significant perioperative surgical risks include bowel leak, deep wound and organ space infection, ureteral leak and/or stenosis, and death. Common long-term surgical risks include: ureteral stenosis, problems with the catheterizable (efferent) channel, and the treatment of pouch or other urinary calculi.

SUMMARY: Perioperative and long-term surgical complications have only recently been reported in a consistent manner for continent catheterizable urinary diversions. Understanding perioperative and long-term surgical complications allows for comparison of studies and more importantly allows surgeons to provide accurate information about complications and risk to patients.