A Case of an Invisible Ureteral Stent

A 35-year-old female presented to the emergency department with fevers and flank pain and was found on computed tomography to have a retained ureteral stent that was placed during emergent ureteral repair eight years prior. The stent was only faintly visible on computed tomography and was completely radiolucent on fluoroscopy. We believe that the stent's radiopaque coating degraded and was lost after years of exposure to urine. This case suggests that a stent may become undetectable on standard imaging if left in place for a long enough period of time.