[Impact of the use of double J stents in renal transplantation on incidence of urologic complications and urinary infection]

Abstract

Objective: The authors evaluated the impact of systematic placement of a double J stent on urological complications and postoperative urinary tract infection.

Material and methods: 188 renal transplantations were performed between January 1991 and December 2001. All patients underwent Lich-Grégoire ureterovesical anastomosis. A double J stent was not used in one group (G1) of 110 patients and a double J stent was systematically inserted in another group (G2) of 78 patients and was removed after 3 weeks. Urine culture was performed in all patients.

Results: 11 patients of group 1 developed urinary fistula and one patient developed obstruction of the ureterovesical anastomosis. No urological complication was detected in group 2. The postoperative urinary tract infection rate was 47.2% in group 1 versus 48.7% in group 2.

Conclusion: Systematic double J stenting appears to decrease the incidence of urological complications after renal transplantation without increasing the incidence of postoperative urinary tract infection.