[Uretero-colonic fistula in non-functioning ureter]

Abstract

Objective: To present a case of ureterocolonic fistula secondary to acute sigmoid diverticulitis in a nonfunctioning ureter due to a previous nephrectomy.

Methods/results: A 68-year-old patient that had undergone nephrectomy due to xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis two years earlier, consulted for long-standing non-specific abdominal pain. Radiological evaluation showed a pneumogram pattern in the ureteral stump associated to a pelvic mass. The patient underwent surgery for a suspected uretero-intestinal fistula. The intraoperative findings and anatomopathological study demonstrated a uretero-sigmoid fistula due to diverticular disease of colon.

Conclusions: Uretero-intestinal fistulas present unimportant clinical features. Radiological assessment and a clinical suspicion are important to diagnosis.