Ureteral stricture denotes stenosis of the ureteral lumen, most commonly due to iatrogenic causes, and symptoms of obstruction are most frequently observed.
Presentation
The post-operative appearance of fever, flank abdominal pain, leukocytosis and even peritonitis are hallmarks of ureteral stricture and if such symptoms are present after gynecological or colorectal surgery, a high dose of clinical suspicion toward this disorder should be made [2].
Entire Body System
- Pain
The left renal function, glomerular filtration rate, had a recovery from 9.6 ml/min preoperatively to 14.0 ml/min at 6-month follow-up, and the patient has no complaints about the donor site and flank pain. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
[…] or swelling, warmth, worsening pain, or foul-smelling drainage Abdominal or kidney pain that won’t go away with pain medicine Blood clots in the urine Swelling of the legs Vomiting that doesn’t go away Trouble urinating The catheter becomes blocked or [saintlukeshealthsystem.org]
[…] at an incision site such as increased redness or swelling, warmth, worsening pain, or foul-smelling drainage Abdominal or kidney pain that won’t go away with pain medicine Blood clots in the urine Swelling of the legs Vomiting that doesn’t go away Trouble [fairview.org]
[…] at an incision site such as increased redness or swelling, warmth, worsening pain, or foul-smelling drainage Abdominal or kidney pain that won't go away with pain medicine Blood clots in the urine Swelling of the legs Vomiting that doesn't go away Trouble [mountnittany.org]
- Fever
Three months later, she had a relapse of uroseptic fever, and urography showed right ingravescent dilation and excellent functional activity of the left urinary tract. Right UNCS was performed. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Symptoms include the post-operative development of fever, increased white blood cell count and abdominal pain with a sense of fullness. [symptoma.com]
Commonly Associated Conditions Connective tissue disorders: Marfan syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, mitral valve prolapse, and pelvic prolapse ( 2 ) Immunosuppression states: HIV, TB, and typhoid Other medical conditions: Cushing syndrome, rheumatic fever [unboundmedicine.com]
- Asymptomatic
The patient remains asymptomatic, with normal renal sonogram, 6 months after the procedure. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
The degree of symptoms correlates poorly with the degree of obstruction; at times, severe obstruction is asymptomatic or silent. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Skin
- Acne Vulgaris
Treatment of acne vulgaris with fractional radiofrequency microneedling. J Dermatol 2014; 41:586–591. [Table 1], [Table 2] [mmj.eg.net]
[…] corporis + Cheyletielosis + Insect bite reaction + Tick + Trombicula autumnalis, Harvest mite + Injuries caused by animals + Bat bite reaction + Injury by stingray + Hand, foot and mouth disease + Gianotti Crosti syndrome + Diseases of hair follicles + Acne [atlases.muni.cz]
Urogenital
- Flank Pain
Several months later the flank pain recurred, and IVP now showed a calcified stone midway in the left ureter. Ureterolithotomy was performed, and a 3 cm long stone embedded in the mucosa was removed. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Presentation left sided flank pain; Usg showed 2 cm calculus in left lower ureter. [radiopaedia.org]
- Hematuria
チャンス血尿(Asymptomatic hematuria 無症候性血尿) chance proteinuriaチャンス蛋白尿 chancroid軟性下疳 Chlamydia infectionクラミジア感染症 chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN)慢性糸球体腎炎 chronic kidney disease (CKD)慢性腎疾患 chronic nephritic syndrome慢性腎炎症候群 chronic renal failure (CRF)慢性腎不全 colicky [tokyo-med.ac.jp]
Patients with urinary calculi may report pain, infection, or hematuria. Patients with small, nonobstructing stones or those with staghorn calculi may be asymptomatic or experience moderate and easily controlled symptoms. [scribd.com]
Renal autotransplantation for severe loin pain/hematuria syndrome. Lancet 1985; 2 (8466) : 1216-7. Tscholl R, Ausfeld R. Renal replantation (orthotopic autotransplantation) for echinococcosis of the kidney. J Urol 1985; 133 (3) : 456-7. [bhj.org.in]
- Renal Insufficiency
Ureteral obstruction may result in renal insufficiency, loss of that particular kidney, and / or urinary infections. [roboticurologicsurgery.com]
Contraindications for ileal ureteral substitution are renal insufficiency, bladder dysfunction, inflammatory bowel disease or radiation injury of the bowel. [urology-textbook.com]
Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (IRF) is a severe disease that may affect the ureters, causing renal insufficiency (1). [latunisiemedicale.com]
Franke and Smith have stated that contraindications to ileal ureter substitution include renal insufficiency (serum creatinine level >2 mg/dL), bladder outlet obstruction, inflammatory bowel disease, and radiation enteritis. [emedicine.medscape.com]
- Ureteral Disorder
Disorders Your kidneys make urine by filtering wastes and extra water from your blood. [icdlist.com]
- Cesarean Section
Gynecologic procedures that have been associated with strictures include hysterectomy (for benign or malignant disease), cesarean sections, and tubal ligations. [alpfmedical.info]
Workup
Abdominal ultrasonography may be initially used to detect hydronephrosis that can suggest the presence of the stricture, but either cystoscopy or a retrograde pyelogram are recommended diagnostic procedures [2]. CT-IVP is an alternative method to detect strictures, but the use of a contrast is necessary in this case [2].
X-Ray
- Nephrolithiasis
Diagnosis The diagnosis of nephrolithiasis is often made on the basis of clinical symptoms alone, although confirmatory tests are usually performed. [scribd.com]
Furthermore, transureteroureterostomy is unsuitable for Ormond's disease, after retroperitoneal radiation, upper tract transitional cell carcinoma and in patients with recurrent nephrolithiasis. [urology-textbook.com]
[…] common indications of renal autotransplantation are renovascular hypertension, extensive ureteral damage and in nephron sparing surgery for renal cell carcinoma. [2] It has also been reported successfully in a variety of other urological conditions like nephrolithiasis [bhj.org.in]
メサンギウム細胞 metastatic carcinoma転移性癌 microscopic hematuria顕微鏡的血尿 micturition hyperreflexia 排尿反射亢進 micturition reflex 排尿反射 minimally invasive therapy低侵襲治療 mycobacteriaミコバクテリア、マイコバクテリア n needle biopsy針生検 neobladder 新膀胱 nephrectomy腎摘出[術]、腎摘、腎切除[術] nephritis腎炎 nephrolithiasis [tokyo-med.ac.jp]
Treatment
Various procedures have been suggested, but endoureterotomy, balloon dilation, and open surgical repair are most commonly performed [1]. The choice somewhat depends on the location of injury [2], however, as laparoscopic ureteral reimplantation has shown excellent results in managing distal strictures [3] [7], whereas robot-assisted ureteral reimplantation showed equal efficacy for both middle and distal strictures [4].
Prognosis
Between 50-70% of ureteral injuries are not diagnosed during procedures that caused it and require further diagnostic workup [2], but the prognosis is good with early recognition of injury.
Etiology
Several causes have been recognized [1] [2] [5]:
- Iatrogenic - In the vast majority of cases, the ureteral stricture is the result of injury after various procedures, including endoscopic, laparoscopic or open surgery, renal transplantation, or endoscopy of the upper GI tract.
- Congenital strictures - Most commonly seen at the ureteropelvic junction.
- Passage of renal calculi.
Epidemiology
It is estimated that gynecologic surgery is responsible for 75% of all ureteral iatrogenic injuries and estimated rates are 0.2 per 1000 cases in the setting of vaginal hysterectomy and 1.3 per 1000 cases for total abdominal hysterectomy [2]. 9% of cases are seen after colorectal surgery, while less than 1% of cases are seen after renal procedures [2]. Renal calculi and their descent through the ureter are recognized risk factors, as ureteral perforation was strongly correlated with the formation of a stricture at that site [5]. Moreover, endourological treatment of ureteral stones is also described as a procedure that can induce stricture and between 14-24% of patients develop this complication [6].
Pathophysiology
Iatrogenic injury to the ureter can cause ischemia associated with fibrosis and scarring of the ureter, or other conditions such as renal calculi or congenital abnormalities are the underlying cause [1]. These events, accompanied by narrowing of the ureteral lumen, induce typical signs and symptoms.
Prevention
By far the most significant preventive strategy is avoiding ureteral injury, meaning that surgeons must pay attention not to damage the ureter when performing gynecological or colorectal surgery.
Summary
Ureteral stricture - pathological narrowing of the lumen of the ureter, is almost always induced by iatrogenic causes, with several forms of surgery (endoscopic/open) and renal transplantation being most frequently mentioned [1]. Malignant tumors, congenital stricture, and certain infections are other notable causes [1], and symptoms such as abdominal pain, leukocytosis and a sense of fullness are primarily encountered [2]. Cystoscopy or a retrograde pyelogram are recommended for the diagnosis of ureteral stricture, while computed tomography with intravenous pyelogram (CT-IVP) is a good alternative method [2]. Endoureterotomy, balloon dilation and either laparoscopic or open reconstruction, which carries the highest success rates, may be performed in order to repair the stricture [1] [3] [4].
Patient Information
Ureteral stricture is a term describing the pathological narrowing of the lumen of the ureter, which connects the kidneys and the bladder. In most cases, this condition is caused by damage of the ureter during surgical procedures (mainly gynecological and colorectal) or other diagnostic procedures in the abdominal area, such as endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms include the post-operative development of fever, increased white blood cell count and abdominal pain with a sense of fullness. The diagnosis can be made by conducting imaging studies that will visualize the narrowed ureter and several surgical approaches exist. Depending on the location of stricture, both invasive (open surgery) or minimally invasive (endoscopic surgery) may be performed to repair the injury.
References
- Hafez KS, Wolf JS Jr. Update on minimally invasive management of ureteral strictures. J Endourol. 2003;17(7):453-464.
- Burks FN, Santucci RA. Management of iatrogenic ureteral injury. Ther Adv Urol. 2014;6(3):115-124.
- Abraham GP, Das K, Siddiaiah AT, Ramaswami K, George PD, Abraham JJ. Laparoscopic reconstruction of ureteral strictures involving solitary renal units-1 year and 5 year outcomes. J Minim Access Surg. 2015;11(4):236-240.
- Kozinn SI, Canes D, Sorcini A, Moinzadeh A. Robotic versus open distal ureteral reconstruction and reimplantation for benign stricture disease. J Endourol. 2012;26(2):147-151.
- Roberts WW1, Cadeddu JA, Micali S, Kavoussi LR, Moore RG. Ureteral stricture formation after removal of impacted calculi. J Urol. 1998;159(3):723-726.
- Fam XI, Singam P, Ho CCK, et al. Ureteral stricture formation after ureteroscope treatment of impacted calculi: A prospective study. Korean J Urol. 2015;56(1):63-67.
- Ogan K, Abbott JT, Wilmot C, Pattaras JG. Laparoscopic Ureteral Reimplant for Distal Ureteral Strictures. JSLS. 2008;12(1):13-17.