Management of persistent urine leak after partial nephrectomy: A case series

Abstract

Urinary leak is one of the most significant complications after partial nephrectomy. In case of persistent urine leaks, placement of a ureteral stent is effective but not always sufficient. This study included 5 patients with persistent urinary leak after partial nephrectomy. The patients underwent flexible ureteroscopy wherein we identified the damaged calyx. Subsequently, we performed percutaneous puncture targeting the distal end of the endoscope at this calyx and installed a nephrostomy tube. Then, the endoscope was removed, and the ureter was drained with a stent. Ureteral stenting ensures elimination of urinary leak in most patients after partial nephrectomy. In patients with persistent urinary leak, retrograde endoscopic percutaneous drainage of the pelvicalyceal system is the method of choice because it allows for rapid and effective treatment of urinary fistulas.

Keywords

Complication / Endoscopic treatment / Flexible ureteroscopy / Kidney cancer / Urinary fistula

Acknowledgments

None.

Statement of ethics

This study has obtained approval from the institutional review board (No. 8-2020). All patients provided informed consent for the use of their clinical information in research studies, and the confidentiality of the data was guaranteed. All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors.

Funding source

None.

Author contributions

BG: Conceptualization, methodology, writing - original draft;

BK: Supervision, validation;

MS: Writing - review & editing;

MA: Investigation, visualization;

AT: Writing - original draft, investigation.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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