[Therapeutic and ethical problems of nephrostomy in tumor-related hydronephrosis]

A total of 101 patients with hydronephrosis due to tumor obstruction underwent palliative nephrostomies. The average survival was 8.6 months; after 3 months, 32% of the patients were dead. The survival for patients with T3 tumors was 9.3 and for patients with T4 tumors, 6.0 months. The general postoperative health status did not improve in any of the cases. Retrospectively, 42% of the patients did not feel that the nephrostomy had done any good. In 17% of the cases, progressive development of tumor growth was predictable at the time of nephrostomy.