Usefulness of fluorescent ureteral catheter during laparoscopic residual ureterectomy

There have been reports of surgery for residual ureteral tumors, most of them involved open surgeries. Herein, we report a case of retroperitoneal scopic left ureteral resection and partial cystectomy, performed by placing a fluorescent ureteral catheter in the residual ureter.

A 79-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a chief complaint of gross hematuria. He had undergone transperitoneal left radical nephrectomy due to angiomyolipoma 20 years ago. Computed tomography and Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a solid tumor in the left residual ureter. Retroperitoneal scopic residual ureterectomy has been performed. During the operation, a fluorescent ureteral catheter proved to be very helpful in detecting the ureter.

A fluorescent ureteral catheter is considered to be a useful tool in laparoscopic surgery, especially in cases where identification of the ureter is expected to be difficult, such as the residual ureter in this case.