Failed endopyelotomy: implications for future surgery on the ureteropelvic junction

During the last 8 years we performed 212 endopyelotomies with an overall success rate of 86%. To determine if the failed endopyelotomies resulted in a more difficult subsequent open corrective procedure, we compared the procedures and outcomes of 15 failed endopyelotomies with 16 control patients undergoing pyeloplasty who had not undergone a previous endopyelotomy. The variables of duration of the surgical procedure, average estimated blood loss, average number of transfusions and average length of hospitalization were analyzed for both groups. No statistically significant differences were detected for any of these variables. We conclude that despite a previously failed endopyelotomy, a subsequent open operation on the ureteropelvic junction, although slightly more difficult, was not associated with an increased morbidity rate nor less successful than de novo pyeloplasty. Therefore, we continue to advocate endopyelotomy as the procedure of choice for obstruction of the ureteropelvic junction.