[OUTCOMES OF CHRONIC UNILATERAL HEMATURIA TREATED USING DIGITAL FLEXIBLE URETEROSCOPE]

(Objectives) We examined the treatment outcomes in cases of chronic unilateral hematuria treated using flexible ureteroscope for observation and hemostasis. (Methods) The study included 14 patients (7 men and 7 women) with a median age of 56.5 years who underwent ureteroscopy using a digital flexible ureteroscope for chronic unilateral hematuria between March 2014 and August 2019. All the patients presented with macroscopic hematuria as a clinical symptom, but in one patient, the hematuria was accompanied by anemia and required a blood transfusion. In addition, bleeding occurred on the left side in 8 patients and on the right side in 3 patients; however, for the remaining 3 patients, the affected side could not be identified. Fourteen patients were examined on the basis of the ureteroscopic findings, number of bleeding sites, hemostatic intervention, treatment effect, and presence or absence of recurrences. (Results) The ureteroscopic findings showed a hemangioma in 7 patients and minute venous rupture in 3, but the remaining 4 patients showed no clear findings. The site of the findings was in the superior calyces in 8 cases, middle calyces in 4 cases, inferior calyces in 4 cases, and renal pelvic wall in 1 case. In addition, the findings were located at multiple sites in 6 cases, including all renal calyces in 2 cases. Ten patients with findings underwent hemostatic interventions (electrocoagulation and laser treatment). The median postoperative follow-up period was 32.4 months (range, 6.4-65.4 months). In all the cases, the hematuria disappeared after treatment. One of the 2 patients with findings in all renal calyces showed recurrence of macroscopic hematuria at 1 year and 6 months, which disappeared after conservative treatment. (Conclusions) In this study, observation using digital flexible ureteroscope was useful in the treatment of chronic unilateral hematuria, and the hemostatic interventions performed on the bleeding sites in the renal pelvis were effective.