52 Laparoscopic pyeloplasty – evolution of a new gold standard

Abstract

Objectives: We report the largest series of laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty for treatment of primary and secondary uretero‐pelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction, reviewing the current status of this procedure.Methods: A total of 170 consecutive cases of laparoscopic pyeloplasty (156 for primary and 14 for secondary UPJ obstruction) were performed or supervised by a single surgeon (C.G.E). A four port extraperitoneal approach was used in all but three cases, which were performed transperitoneally.Results: Median operative time was 140 min. The complication rate was 7.1% and conversion rate was 0.6% with no conversion in the last 161 cases. The median postoperative hospitalisation was 3 nights. Crossing vessels were encountered in 42% of cases and in 11 patients coexisting renal calculi were successfully removed. At a median follow‐up of 12 months, the success rate was 96.2%.Conclusions: Laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty produces functional results comparable to that of open surgery with the advantages of a minimally invasive procedure. Our results are consistent with previous series and support the view that laparoscopic pyeloplasty is moving rapidly towards replacing open surgery as the gold standard in treatment of UPJ obstruction.