[Experience of double Malecot intraurethral stent--analysis on complications]

Double Malecot type polyurethane intraurethral stent (IUS) was used on 5 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (once in 3 patients and twice in 2 patients). They were unfit for operation because of emphysema in 3 cases, asthma and heart disease in one case. IUS with an effective length 35, 40 or 45 mm was selected according to the length of the prostatic urethra and was inserted under fluoroscopic guidance. IUS was successfully placed at the first trials in all patients, but the stent could not be changed in two patients because of bladder tamponade. Peak flow rate (PFR) was improved in 3 cases, unchanged in 1 and worse in 1. The complications were bladder tamponade in 2 cases, urgency and frequency in 1 and encrustation in 1. These findings suggested that positioning the proximal basket of the stent at the prostatic urethra near the bladder neck is important.