[Ureterosigmoidostomy--clinical review of 18 cases]

Although various complications such as electrolyte imbalance and urinary infection are known to be induced by ureterosigmoidostomy, it is still a surgical technique difficult to ignore since it allows patients to lead an almost normal life without the encumbrance of external urinary devices. At our hospital, we performed eighteen ureterosigmoidostomy operations between 1976 and 1985. Herein, we review the postoperative conditions of electrolyte, renal function and other complications. The patients (16 male, 2 female) were between 53 and 72 years old, the mean age being 61.5 years. The primary diseases were bladder tumor (14 patients), prostatic cancer (2), carcinoma of the female urethral diverticulum (1) and urethral stricture (1). As to the electrolytes, both serum Na and serum K values fluctuated within the normal range. Hyperchloremia was detected in 4 cases (22.2%), but it was only slightly above the normal range and the conditions were more or less stabilized a year after the operation. Although blood urea nitrogen had a tendency to elevate one or two years after the operation, serum creatinine fluctuated within the normal range. During the observation period, only 7 of the 18 cases (38.9%) showed complications, the major complication being pyelonephritis (3 cases). Postoperative excretory urogram revealed slight to medium hydronephrosis two months after the operation in 9 of the 18 cases (50%), but most of these conditions were normalized within a year. Four patients died after leaving hospital; 3 due to the recurrence of cancer and one due to pneumonia. The 14 other outpatients are enjoying a normal life without the use of any external urinary device.