Prophylactic ureteral stent placement by general surgeons is safe and Feasible: Implementation of a training and credentialing program for non-urologic surgeons.

BACKGROUND

Prophylactic ureteral stenting has been used to aid with intraoperative identification of ureters and immediate injury recognition during pelvic surgery. This study aims to establish the safety and ability of non-urological surgeons to perform cystoscopy and prophylactic ureteral stent placement.

METHODS

A retrospective review of patients who underwent cystoscopy and prophylactic ureteral stent placement performed by the primary operating surgeon was conducted.

RESULTS

748 cases were included. The overall complication rate was 9.4 ​% and successful ureter cannulation rate was 97.7 ​%. Complications included hematuria ≥3 days (0.9 ​%), AKI (4.4 ​%), urinary retention (3.3 ​%), UTI (2.7 ​%), urethral injury (0.4 ​%), and ureteral injury (0.5 ​%). There was no significant difference in complications between surgical services (p ​= ​0.193), surgical approach (p ​= ​0.648), use of unilateral indwelling stent (p ​= ​0.768), bilateral indwelling stents (p ​= ​0.801), or ICG injection alone (p ​= ​0.596).

CONCLUSIONS

Cystoscopy with prophylactic ureteral stent placement can be safely performed by non-urologic surgeons.