Objective: To assess the outcome of the distal ureteric stump (DUS) after (hemi)nephrectomy with subtotal ureterectomy.
Patients and methods: The records of 89 patients (median age 2.7 years, range 0.25-12) who underwent nephrectomy (24) or heminephrectomy (65) with subtotal ureterectomy between 1982 and 1996 were reviewed retrospectively for symptoms caused by the DUS. The mean follow-up was 9.8 years. Nephrectomy was undertaken for a poorly functioning dysplastic (in nine), scarred (in 10) or hydronephrotic (in five) kidney, and heminephrectomy for a poorly functioning upper moiety associated with ectopic ureterocele (in 26) or stenotic hydroureter (in 15), or for a poorly functioning lower moiety associated with reflux (in 24). There were 38 refluxing and 51 non-refluxing ureteric stumps. Two additional patients primarily operated elsewhere were referred with DUS symptoms.
Results: Only one patient had a symptomatic DUS, with recurrent haematuria and bacteriuria. The two patients referred from elsewhere presented with febrile UTIs. The first had been left with a long refluxing stump opening ectopically into the urethra, and the second with a long stump which was converted from nonrefluxing to a refluxing stump when he developed dysfunctional voiding. Surgical excision of the distal stump was curative in each case.
Conclusions: The risk of a symptomatic DUS in patients who undergo subtotal ureterectomy in conjunction with (hemi)nephrectomy is very low, with no difference between refluxing and nonrefluxing stumps. Long ureteric stumps and dysfunctional voiding may cause symptoms. Because of the low morbidity associated with a short ureteric stump, we recommend subtotal ureterectomy in children who undergo (hemi)nephrectomy for reflux, vesico-ureteric obstruction or ectopic ureterocele associated with a poorly functioning kidney or kidney moiety.