Long-term follow up of complete bladder exstrophy repair. A case report

Bladder exstrophy is a congenital anomaly which is not always successfully managed by surgery. Major goals of surgical intervention in such cases are preservation of normal renal function, development of adequate bladder function and urinary continence and avoidance of future urinary tract infections. We present 5-year data on a patient who underwent complete repair of the bladder exstrophy.

We describe a full term female infant who presented at birth with complete bladder exstrophy. Complete repair of the condition was performed 3 days after birth (Ransley technique). During hospitalization the patient had a positive urinary culture with Candida lusitaniae, enterococcus and septicemia with Klebsiella pneumoniae ESBL. The patient had no complications until the age of 20 months when she developed an episode of pyelonephritis and five further episodes of cystitis with E. coli. Radiographic testing showed small bladder capacity (23 ml at the age of 3 years), bilateral vesicoureteral reflux, a long stenotic urethra and no loss of renal function. Because of the recurrent urinary tract infections, dilatations of the stenotic urethra (Scheldinger technique) were successfully performed at the age of 3. Twenty-two months later the child had negative urinary cultures, a normal renal function and had also gained partial control of the bladder sphincters.

Surgical repair of bladder exstrophy remains a challenging surgery for the pediatric urologist. Following surgical correction both early and long-term post-operative complications may be present. Longitudinal follow up is required by an experienced team of health care professionals.