Pyocystis after urinary diversion for incontinence--is a concomitant cystectomy necessary?

To review the incidence of defunctionalized bladder-related complications in patients who have had a supravesical urinary diversion for intractable urinary incontinence without concomitant cystectomy.

We retrospectively analyzed the records of patients requiring urinary diversion for intractable urinary incontinence from 1996 to 2011 at our institution. Patients were excluded from the cohort if they had evidence of bladder outlet obstruction or a cystectomy at time of diversion, or had been diverted for active malignancy. Sixty patients underwent a supravesical urinary diversion without concomitant cystectomy for intractable urinary incontinence. The etiology of the urinary incontinence was overtly neurogenic in 28 patients and non-neurogenic in 32 patients. Patients had an average follow-up of 45 months (range, 9-96). The indications for surgery, previous surgical interventions, complications of surgery, and long-term outcomes, including the incidence of pyocystis and the need for secondary cystectomy in the postoperative period were reviewed.

Four of 60 patients (7%) experienced complications relating to the defunctionalized bladder; this included pelvic pain and pyocystis. Only 1 patient required admission to hospital for treatment of pyocystis, the remaining 3 patients were successfully managed as outpatients with oral antibiotics or analgesics. No patient required a secondary surgical procedure for the defunctionalized bladder.

Pyocystis and the need for a secondary cystectomy were rare complications in this cohort; we therefore believe that a concomitant cystectomy is unnecessary in patients undergoing supravesical urinary diversion for intractable urinary incontinence.