[Kidney transplantation with cutaneous continent urinary diversion (apropos of 6 cases)]

In a series of 525 renal transplantations performed between January 1987 and September 1990, 5 patients (i.e. 1%) presented with vesical, sphincteric and urethral lesions which prevented classical uretero-vesical or uretero-ureteric reimplantation and functionally satisfactory vesico-sphincteric reconstruction. Under these conditions, in which drainage of the urine into the bladder was impossible, a diversion was created using a continent intestinal reservoir constructed prior to the graft. Four Kock pouches and one Mainz pouch were created during the months preceding renal transplantation with a cadavre kidney. A sixth patient, transplanted in 1981, had to undergo continent urinary diversion in February 1988 after a non-functional bladder augmentation for problems of bladder drainage. We did not observe any mortality or major medical or surgical complications. The follow-up after transplantation in the first 5 patients is now 3, 6, 10, 37 and 40 months. Renal function is normal in all 5 cases with serum creatinine below 130 mmol/l. For the sixth patient, the follow-up is 9 years after the transplantation and 32 months after the continent urinary diversion; serum creatinine is 200 mmol/l and stable since the urinary diversion. Continence is excellent and the comfort of all of the patients is undeniable. However, all patients present with bacteriuria with no symptomatic urinary tract infection.