[Renal papillary necrosis cured with endourological treatment]

We recently experienced a case of renal papillary necrosis which we removed by endourological treatment. A 58-year-old female diabetic patient complaining of left flank pain, fever and chills was admitted to our clinic. She had no past history of analgesic abuse or atypical vasculitis. Physical examination revealed a body temperature of 38 degrees C and tenderness in the left costovertebral angle. Pyuria was noted, and urine cultures grew more than 100,000 colonies of Escherichia coli per cubic millimeter. DIP revealed a diminished renal function, hydronephrosis, distorted middle and lower calyces and filling defect in the dilated ureter. However, there was no evidence of obstruction or ureteral reflux. Retrograde pyelography confirmed distortion and irregularity of the calyces and hydronephrosis due to a shadow defect which was movable during radiographic examinations. Laboratory studies revealed anemia, leucocytosis and hyperglycemia, but no elevation of BUN. Therefore, the patient was diagnosed as renal papillary necrosis. We succeeded in its endourological removal through nephrostomy with a choledochoscope (Olympus Co.) under epidural anesthesia. After surgery, the patient made a satisfactory recovery.