[Endoscopic management of postoperative ureteral wound. Retrospective unicentric study from October 2003 to June 2014].

BACKGROUND: Ureteral wounds are rare with an incidence of 0.5 to 1% of pelvic surgeries. Their supports and their prognosis remain dependant of the period of support and the level of ureteral lesion. The importance of early treatment reduces morbidity and improves patient prognosis.

METHODS: A retrospective study from October 2003 to June 2014 was performed in a university hospital using a systematic chart review of patients' urology, digestive surgery, vascular surgery and gynecology.

RESULTS: Forty-six wounds were found in 43 patients. The majority of the ureteral wound was found at the pelvic ureter, i.e. 69.6% of the study population (n=32). The main cause was gynecological surgery (n=25). In the simple wound group, endoscopic treatment was effective in nearly 90% of cases (n=6). In the other two groups, the efficacy was only 30% and imposed a surgical treatment as second-line.

CONCLUSION: The management is based primarily on early detection or intraoperative, and on a correct initial knowledge of the location and size of the lesion. Endoscopic treatment can in most cases treated with a simple and minimally invasive operation an ureteral wound with nearly 90% success rate. In more complex wounds, endoscopy remains a step in the management with about 30% success rate in our study.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5.