Percutaneous antegrade endopyelotomy: long-term results from one institution.

Objectives: To assess the long-term efficacy of percutaneous antegrade endopyelotomy for the treatment of ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction performed at a single institution during a 10-year period. We provide alterations in investigation and management strategies on the basis of the results.

Methods: From July 1990 to June 2001, 80 patients with clinical and radiographic evidence of UPJ obstruction underwent percutaneous endopyelotomy for the treatment of primary (n = 61) or secondary (n = 19) UPJ obstruction. The mean patient age was 35 years (range 4 to 76). Percutaneous endopyelotomy was performed in a standard fashion using either a hooked-knife (n = 77) or holmium laser (n = 3).

Results: With a mean patient follow-up of 55 months (range 16 to 138), the overall success rate was 67% (53 of 79). The success rate for primary and secondary UPJ obstruction was 65% (39 of 60) and 74% (14 of 19), respectively. The mean time to failure was 15 months (range 1 to 79). Operative intervention for 24 of 26 patients with failure included open pyeloplasty (n = 18, 75%), indwelling ureteral stenting (n = 2, 8%), retrograde balloon dilation (n = 1, 4%), and nephrectomy (n = 3, 13%). Two asymptomatic patients with recurrent radiographic evidence of obstruction elected conservative follow-up. Significant crossing vessels were encountered at open pyeloplasty in 15 (83%) of 18 patients.

Conclusions: Our long-term results of percutaneous endopyelotomy demonstrated somewhat lower success rates than that reported in published studies. Long-term follow-up is critical in identifying late failures. The high prevalence of crossing vessels encountered at open pyeloplasty provided further evidence to support its role in endopyelotomy failure. Routine preoperative helical computed tomography to detect significant crossing vessels is recommended. Patients with crossing vessels are likely better served with operative techniques that specifically address this issue, namely open or laparoscopic pyeloplasty.