[Diagnostic and therapeutic advantages of rigid ureteroscopy: retrospective study of 304 cases]

Uretroscopy has become a common tool for the diagnosis and management of the upper urinary tract. Between April 1994 and Decembre 1999, 304 ureteroscopy procedures were performed. The most common therapeutic procedure was stone manipulation in 299 cases (distal ureter 259 cases, mid-ureter 23 cases, lumber ureter eight cases and staged in nine cases). Procedure was made by a rigid ureteroscope 8.5 Ch or 11.5 Ch. Dorinia was used in 175 cases (57.5%) with or without fragmentation by ultrasound. Therapeutic ureteroscopy was also used to remove a double-J stent that had migrated into the pelvic ureter in one case and in three cases of ureteral tumor. It was used in one case to confine the extrinsic compression of a ureteral stenosis. Median follow up was 12 months (6-36 months). The overall success rate was 87.6%. Results are comparable in men and women (P = 0.8). Success rate was 90% in single lithiasis and 76.2% in case of numerous stones (P = 0.0094). There was a statistically significant difference in success rate between stones 15 mm or under in size (89% stone-free) and those 15 mm (66% stone-free) or larger. In conclusion, rigid ureteroscopy is a minimally invasive and reliable technique for the management of ureteric calculi and for the diagnosis and treatment of other ureteric lesion.