Ministry of Health, Kecioren Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
To evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasonography and to determine whether ionizing radiation is necessary in the postoperative follow-up of children undergoing ureteroscopy.
We reviewed the charts of 49 children who underwent 51 ureteroscopic procedures for ureteral calculi. Renal ultrasound and intravenous urography were performed in all patients at 3 months after surgery for postoperative evaluation.
In three cases, stones migrated to the kidney. Retrograde intrarenal surgery was performed in two patients and one patient required shockwave lithotripsy to become stone-free. Fourty-six children were completely stone-free and 3 had residual fragments on plain film in the postoperative 3 month. The sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values of ultrasonography for detecting hydronephrosis were 85.7, 100, 97.7 and 100%, respectively. Two patients under observation and three patients under medical expulsive therapy had resolution of hydronephrosis on follow-up. One patient required ureteroscopy for residual obstructing fragments.
Ultrasonography has limited accuracy for detecting residual ureteral stones, but it is a highly specific and reasonably sensitive test for detecting hydronephrosis. A combination of ultrasonography and plain film is a safe and effective imaging procedure in postoperative follow-up of children undergoing ureteroscopy.
Written by:
Resorlu B, Kara C, Resorlu EB, Unsal A. Are you the author?
Reference: Pediatr Surg Int. 2011 Sep 28. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1007/s00383-011-2979-0
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 21953523
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