Robot-assisted Transplanted Ureteral Stricture Management

To assess the feasibility of robot-assisted transplanted ureteral reimplantation as a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery.

Between August 2015 and March 2016, 5 patients presented with transplanted ureteral strictures after failure of a previous endoscopic management. All patients underwent robot-assisted ureteral reimplantation. Patients' demographics, perioperative outcomes, and complications are reported.

All patients presented with deterioration of kidney function with or without recurrent urinary tract infection. Two patients had short strictures (<1 cm) and 2 had long strictures (>1 cm), whereas 1 patient had a nitinol ureteral stent in situ. The location of the stricture varied among these patients with 3 distal and 1 proximal. Intraoperatively, 3 patients had a modified Lich-Gregoir reimplantation and 2 patients had a pyelovesicostomy. The mean operative time was 164 (±52) minutes. There were no intraoperative complications, conversion to open surgery, or significant blood loss necessitating blood transfusion. There were no urine leaks in the immediate or late postoperative period. One patient developed a Clavien grade IVa complication (sepsis). The median length of stay, the duration of catheterization, and the duration of stenting were 1 day (range 1-5 days), 7 days (range 6-14 days), and 39 days (range 25-51 days), respectively. After a median follow-up of 79 days (range 40-139 days), no strictures or delayed leakages were identified.

Robot-assisted transplanted ureteral reimplantation is technically feasible. With a larger number of cases and a longer follow-up, robot-assisted transplanted ureteral reimplantation may provide a new and effective, minimally invasive alternative for the treatment of this complex surgical problem.