Blind-ending bifid ureter mimicking stone obstruction during emergency urinary drainage: A case report
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Updated: Nov 9, 2026

A Murine Model of Irreversible and Reversible Unilateral Ureteric Obstruction
Published on: December 20, 2014
Yukino Hasegawa1, Junki Harada1, Itsuho Ito1
1Department of Urology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Abstract:
A blind-ending bifid ureter is a rare congenital urinary tract anomaly. A 63-year-old woman with obstructive pyelonephritis due to a right ureteral stone underwent emergency urinary drainage. Retrograde pyelography demonstrated contrast opacification only up to the right upper ureter, and a guidewire failed to advance beyond the upper ureter. Percutaneous nephrostomy was therefore performed. During subsequent transurethral ureterolithotripsy, ureteroscopy revealed that the guidewire had entered a blind-ending branch, while the stone was located within the ureteral branch communicating with the renal pelvis. A blind-ending bifid ureter may mimic ureteral obstruction caused by ureteral stones and complicate transurethral urinary drainage.
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