Upper urinary tract biopsy: an old device for a new approach

The authors sought to evaluate the feasibility, diagnostic accuracy and safety of urological biopsy performed using a flexible alligator forceps.

Twenty-seven patients with suspected urothelial malignancy underwent retrograde biopsy using a 7-F biopsy forceps (Cordis, Miami, FL, USA). Mild sedation was guaranteed by an anaesthesiologist. The final diagnosis was confirmed by cytohistological data and subsequently by pathology findings at surgery. Lesions with benign histopathology were closely monitored for at least 12 months.

The technical success rate was 92.6%. The high diagnostic accuracy was related to the positive correspondence between histological outcomes and surgical results or follow-up observations. As regards sample site, the procedure was less successful in calyceal lesions than in lesions located in the upper urinary tract, with a technical success of 71.43%. Twenty patients had asymptomatic haematuria in the early hours after the procedure; ten of them had mild dysuria. No one require medication, and no major complications occurred.

Urological forceps biopsy is a safe and easy procedure. It provides a relatively high level of accuracy in the diagnosis of lesions of the upper urinary tract.