Purpose: To present our experiences with laparoscopic repair of peritoneal catheter dysfunction
Methods: Total of 24 patients with peritoneal catheter malfunction were considered for two-port laparoscopic manipulation. Two patients with unsuccessful result in the first trial and 3 patients with successful peritoneal dialysis results were reoperated because of catheter dysfunction.
Results: The success rates at the first and second manipulation was 79% and 80%. The most frequent cause of catheters dysfunction was migration of catheters out of the true pelvis. During the follow up, 8 patients were referred for renal transplantation, 8 underwent hemodialysis and 5 continued with normal catheter function. The mean longevity of the catheters after laparoscopic correction was 42 months. One year longevity rate as measured as 79%.
Conclusion: Laparoscopy is the procedure of choice even in recurrent cases, for correction of malfunctioning continuous ambulatory peritoneal catheters, because this procedure is the only technique that can detects pathologic causes of catheters malfunction and can resolve those problems at the same time.
Keywords: Dysfunction; Laparoscopy; Peritoneal catheter.