Transurethral resection of the intramural ureter as the first step of nephroureterectomy

Nephroureterectomy is the standard surgical approach for upper urinary tract carcinoma. In 1952 a modified technique was described based on a prior endoscopic disconnection of the intramural ureter as an initial step for subsequent nephroureterectomy via a single lumbar incision. Since October 1989 we performed 31 nephroureterectomies with this technique in 26 men and 5 women (average age 64.5 years). Of the patients 9 had prior bladder carcinoma. The predominant pathological diagnosis of the nephroureterectomy specimens was high grade infiltrating tumor. There were no intraoperative complications except for 1 case of intra-abdominal extravasation detected in the immediate postoperative period and treated conservatively. With an average followup of 20 months, tumor has not recurred at either the resected trigonal area or the retroperitoneum. We believe that our experience assesses the feasibility of this technique to improve and simplify nephroureterectomy, thus, decreasing the morbidity rate and operating time while maintaining the same oncological radicality.