[en] Uretral motility after a method described by Mueller-Schauenburg was determined in 83 hypertensive patients referred to renography. Several criteria to assess the motility pictures were used in order to assess their potential clinical usefulness. It has been found that the 'normal' peristaltic wave in the hydrated patient shows a propagation time from the pelvic region to the bladder of about 13 seconds and that the interval between them is approximately 30 second. In hypertensive patients under treatment the propagation velocity, as indicated by the initial slope of the characteristic pattern, was found to be reduced, indicating a possible application of the method in pharmacodynamic investigations. (Author)

[en] Percutaneous ureteral stent insertion is a treatment of permanent or temporary urinary diversion to maintain continuity and function of the obstructed and injured ureter. We performed 31 cases of percutaneous double pig tall ureteral stent insertion in 21 patients, included 13 patients with malignant ureteral obstruction and eight patients with injured ureter as well as benign inflammatory stricture. Satisfactory resulted was obtained in all patients but one, who need percutaneous nephrostomy on week later for urinary diversion. No significant complication was encountered. The authors concluded that percutaneous ureteral stent insertion, an interventional procedure alternative to urologic retrograde method, is an effective method for urinary diversion

[en] Ureteral stenting is a routine, minimally invasive procedure performed for relief of benign or malignant obstruction. In case of ureteral stenosis, to allow a correct insertion of the stent, a predilatation of the ureter stenosis with a conventional balloon catheter can be necessary. In exceptional cases, it can be difficult to advance an 7-8 Fr JJ-catheter over a tight resistant ureter stenosis following unsuccessful high-pressure balloon dilatation. In the present report, we describe two cases of resistant ureter stenosis successfully dilated by a cutting-balloon following the failure of high-pressure balloon dilatation, allowing a correct and uncomplicated antegrade stent insertion.

No abstract available

[en] Megaureter is a relatively rare disease and its first description was done by Caulk in 1923. It is characterized by marked ureteral dilation without obvious cause, and occurs in lower ureter especially. Authors report a case of primary obstructive megaureter with CT demonstration in 19 year old female. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of primary obstructive megaureter in Korea

[en] To evaluate the role of antegrade balloon dilatation and ureteral stenting in benign ureteral strictures. Percutaneous antegrade balloon dilatation was attempted in 46 patients with benign ureteral strictures. The underlying causes of the strictures were urinary tract tuberculosis in 20 patients, congenital ureteropelvic junction obstruction in eight, ureteroneocystostomy or ureteroileostomy state in five, postoperative or post-extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy state for ureteral calculi in eight, ureteral injury during surgery in four, and retroperitoneal fibrosis in one. Antegrade balloon dilatation was performed with initial technical success in 43 patients but the procedure was aborted in the remaining three with urinary tract tuberculosis due to the failure in passing a guidewire through the stenotic lesions. Intravenous urograms obtained 4-76 months after the procedure showed improvements in 76% (13/17) with urinary tract tuberculosis, in 63%(5/8) with congenital ureteropelvic junction obstruction, in 88%(7/8) with strictures associated with ureteral calculi, and in 100%(4/4) with iatrogenic ureteral injury. The results were relatively poor in strictures of the ureteral anastomosis(1/5) and in ureteral strictures associated with retroperitoneal fibrosis (0/1). Antegrade balloon dilatation of the urinary tract combined with ureteral stenting was an effective technique for the management of the benign ureteral strictures

[en] Percutaneous nephrostomy was performed in 82 patients under the fluoroscopic guidance for recent 3 years. The cause of hydronephrosis were as follows: unknown origin of stricture (N=37), stone (N=20), tumor (N=14), tuberculosis (N=8), postoperative ureteral injury (N=1), postoperative anastomotic stricture(N=1)and renal transplantation complication (N=1). Successful nephrostomy was achieved in 79 patients (96%). Causes if failure were minimal dilatation of pelvocaliceal system (N=2) and staghorn calculi (N=1). Follow up laboratory test shows high BUN and creatinine level returned to normal limit within 1 or 3 weeks in 73 patient. Major complication was not found, but temporary hematuria (N=4) or fever (N=1) was noted. In conclusion, percutaneous nephrostomy is the safe and effective method for the temporary and permanent relief of urinary obstruction and maintenance of ureteral patency

[en] To describe the radiological findings associated with ectopic ureterocele and ectopic ureter in pediatric patients. To assess the role of ultrasound (US), serial micturating cystourethrography (SM-CU) and intravenous urography (IVU) in the diagnosis of these two entities. The authors performed a retrospective study of 132 patients, 73 with ectopic ureterocele and 59 with ectopic ureter. The imaging studies used were US, SMCU, IVU and methods to determine renal function (diuretic renography and renal scintigraphy). The findings were confirmed during surgery in every case. The most common radiological findings in ectopic ureterocele were renal duplication (86,3%). vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) to the lower half of the kidney (46.6%), dilatation of the lower pole of the kidney (38.4%) and contralateral duplication (30.1%). In boys, the ectopic ureter entered via bladder neck and posterior urethra (73.7%) or into seminal vesicles (15.8%); in girls, it went to vagina (32.5%), bladder neck (30%) or urethra (22.5%). Renal duplication was associated in 64.4%, with VUR to the ectopic ureter in 21% while there was a single renal system in 35.6%, with VUR to the ectopic ureter in 57.1% and contralateral renal agenesis in 19%. Eighteen patients (13.6%) presented a single, dy plastic, nonfunctioning renal system (6 cases of ureterocele and 12 of ectopic ureter). Knowledge of the embryological development of ureteral duplication is essential for the understanding of these two entities and helps to differentiate between them, thus facilitating a sometimes complicated diagnosis. Ectopic ureters and ureteroceles accompanied by a single, dysplastic renal system are associated with a greater incidence of congenital anomalies and a higher rate of complications than the duplicate systems. A prenatal US examination enables early diagnosis. The anatomical information provided by US is, on occasion, more valuable than that resulting from IVU or SMCU, However, IVU is indispensable in girls with urinary incontinence. In recent years, magnetic resonance urography is being used as a noninvasive alternative to IVU. (Author) 28 refs

[en] We report 10 kidney allografted patients treated for 11 ureteral strictures with standard endourlogic balloon catheter dilatation and internal stenting between August 1979 and December 1991. They have been followed until 2 to 140 months (mean 42). We compared and analyzed the 6 successful strictures (54%) and 5 unsuccessful strictures. There was no statistically significant difference of demographic, clinical and radiologic interventional techniques between two groups. But there was slightly higher success rate in abruptly narrowed shorter fibrotic strictures in ureteroneocystomy sites than smoothly taped longer ones in other sites of the ureter. Longterm stenting by the transplantation team with cystoscopic removal of internal ureteral stents by urologists resulted in 3 cases of stent occlusion, encrustation or fracture. Exact early diagnosis of ureteral stricture with continued close follow up and proper radiologic interventional procedure with optimal stenting period may increase the success rate and still provide an alternative to surgery

[en] To describe Magnetic Resonance Urography (MRU) appearances of the circumcaval ureter, a rare congenital cause of hydronephrosis. Seven cases of circumcaval ureter, suspected on intravenous urography (IVU), underwent subsequent static MRU using heavily T2-weighted sequences. The various appearances of circumcaval ureter on IVU and MRU were studied and compared. The circumcaval portion of the ureter was especially well seen on axial MRU sections, though this portion was routinely not visualized on IVU. In one case with a ureteric calculus, MRU also depicted a circumcaval course of the ureter, thus providing a complete diagnosis. In yet another case, where a circumcaval ureter was suspected on IVU, MRU proved the actual cause of ureteric obstruction to be a crossing vessel. Static MRU using heavily T2-weighted coronal and axial sequences can make or exclude the diagnosis of circumcaval ureter unequivocally