INTERNAL URETERAL STENTING FOLLOWING PYELOPLASTY REDUCES LENGTH OF HOSPITAL STAY IN CHILDREN

The advent of totally internal ureteric stents has the potential to reduce hospital stay in paediatric pyeloplasty. Traditionally, discharge from hospital has followed removal of an external transanastomotic drain, usually 5 days to a week post-operatively. The use of totally internal catheters negates the need for nursing supervision by removing external attachments that a paediatric patient might inadvertently dislodge. The length of hospital stay for pyeloplasty using a Double-J ureteric stent was compared with our previous method of transanastomotic feeding tube nephrostomy drainage. The results show the use of Double-J stenting to be advantageous in paediatric pyeloplasty by decreasing considerably the length of hospital stay. This is clearly of benefit to the patient, who returns to the family setting much earlier. Despite the need for an out-patient endoscopic procedure to remove the stent, savings in treatment costs and improved efficiency of bed use are also achieved.