Contemporary management of benign uretero-enteric strictures after cystectomy: a systematic review

Uretero-enteric stricture (UES) is a common postoperative complication after radical cystectomy with urinary diversion. The aim of this systematic review was to discuss the contemporary management of benign UES after cystectomy and to compare the different surgical approaches.

A systematic review was performed from January 2000 to January 2021. Search engines used included PubMed, Embase and Medline databases. Search query were: (["ureteroileal" OR "uretero-ileal" OR "ureteroenteric" OR "uretero-enteric"] AND ["stricture" OR "stenosis"]) AND ("management" OR "treatment"). Study selection followed the PRISMA statement. Studies tackling management of UES, either through open, endoscopic, laparoscopic or robot-assisted approaches, were included in our systematic review.

Forty-one studies were finally included in this systematic review. No prospective studies were found; all included studies were retrospective. Open surgical repair had 78-100% success rate, a significant rate of complications, and a low recurrence rate (6-8%). Endourological management decreased complication rate, length-of-stay, and blood loss, with lower success (15-50%) and higher recurrence rates (62-91%) compared to open surgery. Robotic assisted surgery showed comparable success rates to open surgery (80-100%), while limiting the number of major complications and hospital length-of-stay.

Surgical management of UES remains challenging. Open surgery maintains a role given its high success rate, at the cost of a significant morbidity. On the other hand, endourological procedures offer a favorable and low complication risk, but a low long-term success rate. Robotic-assisted surgery is emerging with a valid resolution of UES as it offers comparable success rates to an open approach, while reducing surgical morbidity. Head-to-head comparisons are awaited to confirm these findings.