Retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyeloplasty: retrospective study of 45 consecutive adult cases.

Objective: To evaluate the results of retroperitoneal laparoscopic surgical repair of ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) syndrome. Material and Methods: Retrospective study of 45 consecutive Kuss-Anderson-Hynes laparoscopic pyeloplasties performed over a 4-year period (December 1998-November 2002) in adults (26 women, 19 men) with a mean age of 44.8 years (range: 16-83 years). Results: The mean operating time was 138 minutes (range: 75-250 minutes). Open conversion was necessary in 3 cases: necrotic pyelitis, ectopic renal artery, posterior pelvic tear The mean hospital stay was 61 days. With a mean follow-up of 19 months (range: 3-58 months), the clinical success rate was 97.6% and the success rate on IVU or scintigraphy was 83.3%. Conclusion: This series confirms that laparoscopic pyeloplasty is a minimally invasive technique that gives better results than those of the various endopyelotomy techniques and equivalent results to those of open pyeloplasty with decreased morbidity.