Changing to a loop-type ureteral stent decreases patients' stent-related symptoms.

The first indwelling ureteral splint was described in 1967. A ureteral stent can cause unpleasant side effects, such as urinary frequency, urgency, incontinence, hematuria, bladder pain and flank pain, which have a negative impact on a patient's quality of life. It is necessary to minimize the amount of material in the bladder in order to decrease stent-related symptoms. This study investigated the stent-related symptoms after changing from a double pigtail to a loop-type ureteral stent in the same patient group. This study followed 25 patients who underwent ureteral stent exchange from double pigtail to loop-type ureteral stent between September 2009 and February 2010. Ureteral stents were exchanged using topical, conscious sedation and general anesthesia for the various procedures including stent exchange, before/after shock wave lithotripsy and before/after ureteroscopy. The stent length was selected to be the same as whole ureteral length and the caliber based on the previous stent. A self-administered stent-related symptom questionnaire was used to assess stent-related symptoms in comparison to the previous double-pigtail stents. A total of 25 patients with a median age of 56.5 years underwent ureteral stent exchange. All patients had stone disease except two patients who had ureteral stricture. Almost all of stent-related symptoms without nocturia showed a significantly lower score with the loop-type ureteral stent than in double-pigtail stent. None of the patients experienced urinary tract infection either before or after undergoing ureteral stent exchange. Changing to loop-type ureteral stent significantly decreased ureteral stent-related symptoms.