Patients with encrusted ureteral stents can be treated by a single session combined endourological approach

Roberto Iglesias Lopes, Rodrigo Perrella, Carlos Hirokatsu Watanabe, Fabricio Beltrame, Alexandre Danilovic, Claudio Bovolenta Murta, Joaquim Francisco de Almeida Claro, Fabio Carvalho Vicentini

To describe our experience in the management of retained encrusted ureteral stents using a single session combined endourological approach. Patients with retained encrusted ureteral stents who had been submitted to a single session combined endourological approach from June 2010 to June 2018 were prospectively evaluated. Patients were divided according to the Forgotten-Encrusted-Calcified (FECal) classification. The stone burden, surgical intervention, number of interventions until stone free status, operation time, hospital stay, complications, stone analysis, and stone-free rate were compared between groups. ANOVA was used to compare numerical variables, and the Mann-Whitney or Chi-square test to compare categorical variables between groups. We evaluated 50 patients with a mean follow-up of 2.9±1.4 years (mean±SD). The groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, laterality, BMI, comorbidities, ASA, reason for stent passage, and indwelling time. The stone burden was higher for grades IV and V (p=0.027). Percutaneous nephrolithotomy was the most common procedure (p=0.004) for grades IV and V. The number of procedures until the patients were stone-free was 1.92±1.40, and the hospital stay (4.2±2.5 days), complications (22%), and stone analysis (66% calcium oxalate) were similar between groups. The stone-free rate was lower in grades III to V (60%, 54.5%, and 50%). The endoscopic combined approach in the supine position is a safe and feasible technique that allows removal of retained and encrusted stents in a single procedure. The FECal classification seems to be useful for surgical planning.