Stent removal in 200 kidney transplant recipients: Nonoperative versus endoscopic removal

• Published in: Experimental and clinical transplantation 2016-08, Vol.14 (4), p.385-388
• Main Authors: Simforoosh,Nasser, Obeid,Khaled, Javanmard,Babak, Rezaeetalab,Gholam Hossein, Razmjoo,Shahram, Soltani,Mohammad Hossein
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Tıp
• ISSN: 1304-0855; 2146-8427
• DOI: 10.6002/ect.2015.0279

Objectives: Inserting a double J stent during kidney transplant has reduced the rate of urologic complications. Traditionally, a double J stent is removed via endoscopic intervention. Here, we assessed the safety and efficacy of a nonoperative method for double J stent removal. Materials and Methods: Our study group included 200 consecutive patients who underwent kidney transplant from January 2013 to April 2014. Group A consisted of 100 recipients who had a double J stent that was tied to a Foley catheter with 2-0 silk suture. The stent was simply removed by taking out the Foley catheter after 3 weeks. Patients in group A were compared with a second group of 100 kidney transplant patients whose stents were removed endoscopically 3 weeks later (group B). Results: Patients were matched between the 2 groups regarding age distribution, male-to-female patient ratio, deceased versus living donor graft, prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and body mass index. The incidence of urinary fistula (3% in group A and 4% in group B; P = .7), ureteral stenosis (1 % in group A and 2% in group B; P = .56), wound infection (1% in group A and 2% in group B; P = .56), and positive urine culture (20% in group A and 29% in group B; P=.14) after stent removal were not significantly different between the 2 groups. Conclusions: This study shows that nonoperative removal of a double J stent is a safe and effective method. This approach is simple, and there is no need for a surgical procedure or any outpatient surgical intervention.