[Laparoscopic heminephrureterectomy for duplex kidney in children]

Duplication of the upper urinary tract is one of the most common congenital urological anomalies. In patients with critically decreased or lost function of one of the renal segments, heminephrureterectomy is usually the treatment of choice. Until recently, this was an open surgery; in cases of complete removal of the ureter, an additional incision in the iliac region was required. Currently, heminephrureterectomy is increasingly performed laparoscopically. We report the experience in laparoscopic heminephrureterectomy (LHNUE) in 10 clinics in Russia and Belarus. Some of them have already used this technique for 10 years.

The study aimed to to improve the treatment results in children with urodynamic dysfunction due to duplicated upper urinary tract.

We retrospectively analyzed medical records of 111 children treated from 2007 to 2016. There were 26 (23.4%) boys and 85 (76.6%) girls with mean age 44.6 months (from 2 to 170) at the time of surgery. All children included in the study had complete duplex kidneys, including 51 (45.9%) right-sided and 60 (54.1%) left-sided. All the children underwent LHNUE for a critical decrease or absence of function of the upper or lower segment of the duplex kidney caused by the following pathology: obstruction of the ureterovesical junction with the development of the megaureter of the upper ureteral segment in 57 (51.4%) patients; ureterocele in 28 (25.2%); extra-vesical ectopic ureter with urinary incontinence in 10 (9.0%) girls; high-grade UVR in 16 (14.4%) patients.

There were no conversions in this series of patients. The mean operative time was 135 minutes (60-240 min.). All children included in the study were followed for 1 to 9 years after surgery. Complications occurred in 17 (15.3%) patients, of whom 12 (10.8%) required repeat surgery. In one patient with the loss of lower pole function, the treatment result was considered unsatisfactory.

LHNUE for duplex kidney is performed by a few clinics and is still at the stage of development and accumulation of experience. Nevertheless, LHNUE, though an effective treatment modality, carries the risk of reducing or losing the function of the retained segment.