Surgical management of vesicoureteral reflux in adults

Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is the retrograde flow of urine from the bladder into the upper urinary tract with or without upper-tract dilatation. This diagnosis is commonly made in childhood, affecting 1% of all births. In adults, its prevalence and incidence are not known. Presentation in adults could be with loin pain associated with voiding or a full bladder, recurrent urinary tract infections, a diagnosis carried over from childhood or an incidental finding. Most of the works on VUR have been done in the paediatric population. There are limited publications addressing VUR in adults. Unsurprisingly, the management of VUR in adults is extrapolated from the knowledge that we have gained from paediatric urology. Herein, we recap on the pathophysiology and review the surgical management of VUR in adults as published over the years.