Diagnosis and management of trauma to the kidney

Because trauma is an unplanned event, guidelines for managing patients sustaining upper urinary tract injury must already exist in the surgeon's mind before laying eyes on the injured patient. In order to simplify and standardize the evaluation and treatment of such patients, urologists have applied a system of staging paradigms and treatment algorithms, analogous to systems successfully used in the less chaotic arena of, for example, urologic oncology. Advancements in imaging modalities, improvements and renovations of surgical technique, and critical review of outcomes data have impacted on the management of genitourinary trauma and will be likely to influence the way we treat trauma patients in the future.