Preoperative ureteral stenting in women with deep posterior endometriosis and ureteral involvement: Is it useful?

Prophylactic ureteric catheterisation during complex gynaecological surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of robust evidence to recommend the use of perioperative ureteric catheterisation or stenting in complex gynaecological surgery.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the evidence on the benefits and risks of perioperative ureteric catheterisation or stenting in complex gynaecological surgery.

SEARCH STRATEGY

A literature search was performed in CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Embase and MEDLINE, from 1946 to January 2024, using a combination of keywords and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terminology.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies were included.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Meta-analysis of the RCTs and observational studies were performed separately. Cochrane RevMan 6.5.1 was used to undertake meta-analysis. Risk ratios with 95% CIs were calculated for the outcome measures.

MAIN RESULTS

Ten studies were included: three RCTs and seven observational studies, comprising 8661 patients. The three RCTs, comprising a total of 3277 patients, showed no difference in the risk of immediate complications in the form of ureteric injury between the ureteric stent and the control groups (RR 0.9, 95% CI 0.49-1.65). The observational studies included 5384 patients. Four studies that explored the ureteric injury as an outcome did not show any difference between the two groups (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.27-2.16). One case-control study with 862 participants found that the rate of ureteric injury was higher in the non-stented group, although this was observed in only three patients. The risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) was increased in the stent group, although not with statistical significance (RR 1.84, 95% CI 0.47-7.17). There was no significant difference in the risk of ureteric fistulae (RR 1.91, 95% CI 0.62-5.83), although the number of studies was limited.

CONCLUSIONS

Prophylactic ureteric catheterisation or stenting for complex gynaecological surgery is not associated with a lower risk of ureteric injury.

Keep your attention closer to the ureters: Ureterolysis in deep endometriosis surgery

Endometriosis surgery involving the ureter poses significant challenges requiring meticulous surgical techniques and vigilant postoperative care. This chapter addresses key aspects of ureterolysis techniques, intraoperative management of ureteral injuries, and postoperative care in the context of endometriosis surgery. Ureterolysis methods aim to isolate and mobilize the ureter while preserving its vascularity. Cold instruments and careful dissection are recommended to prevent thermal injury during surgery. Intraoperative tools such as indocyanine green (ICG) show promise in assessing for vascular compromise. Over half of ureteral injuries are detected postoperatively, necessitating a high index of suspicion. Optimal postoperative care in the case of ureteral injury involves Foley catheterization for decompression, ureteral stenting, and meticulous follow-ups to monitor healing and renal function. While advances have been made in surgical techniques and diagnostic tools, gaps persist in preoperative imaging optimization and predictive models for identifying at-risk patients. This chapter aims to bridge existing knowledge gaps, optimize surgical practices, and enhance the overall care and outcomes of patients undergoing endometriosis surgery involving the ureter.

Are ureterolysis for deep endometriosis really all the same? An anatomical classification proposal for ureterolysis: A single-center experience

OBJECTIVE

Ureteral endometriosis has an incidence of 0.1% to 1%. The type of surgery required is either conservative (ureterolysis) or radical treatment, depending on the degree of ureter infiltration. The incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications is heterogeneous. Thus, the aim of the current study was to propose a classification of ureterolysis based on the anatomical structure of the ureter and differing complication rates with procedures.

METHODS

A total of 139 ureterolysis procedures were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups according to the depth of ureterolysis required. Differences were recorded across the three types of ureterolysis in terms of intraoperative and postoperative complications.

RESULTS

The incidence of ureteral fistula was reported in 0.7% of cases, with postoperative ureteral stenosis in 2% of type 2 ureterolysis. In the case of type 3 ureterolysis, after conservative procedures, 52.9% of patients required an ureteroneocystostomy to solve the ureteral stenosis.

CONCLUSION

The risk of ureteral injury and ureteroneocystostomy after conservative procedures appears to be associated with type 3 ureterolysis, probably due to excessive devascularization, secondary to the incision of adventitia. Obviously, these data should be confirmed through a prospective study of a larger number, but our proposed classification can provide the basis for making data from future studies more comparable.

Electromechanically Functionalized Ureteral Stents for Wireless Obstruction Monitoring

While millions of ureteral stents are placed in patients with urinary tract issues around the world every year, hydronephrosis still poses great danger to these patients as a common complication. In the present work, an intelligent double-J ureteral stent equipped with a micro pressure sensor and antenna circuitry is investigated and prototyped toward enabling continuous wireless monitoring of kidney pressure to detect a ureteral obstruction and the resultant hydronephrosis via the indwelling stent. This electromechanically functionalized "intelligent" ureteral stent acts as a radiofrequency resonator with a pressure-sensitive resonant frequency that can be interrogated using an external antenna to track the local pressure. The prototype passes mechanical bending tests of up to 15 cm radius of curvature and shows wireless sensing with a sensitivity of 3.1 kHz/mmHg in artificial urine, which represents 25× enhancement over the preceding design, using an in vitro model with test tissue layers and a pressure range that functions within the conditions found in hydronephrotic conditions. These promising results are expected to propel intelligent ureteral stent technology into further clinical research.

Clinical outcomes following surgical management of deep infiltrating endometriosis

The main aim of the study was to evaluate severe post-operative complications following deep endometriosis surgery in a tertiary referral centre. This is a retrospective cohort study that included women who had surgery for deep infiltrating endometriosis between 1st January 2013 and 31st December 2019. Endometriosis was diagnosed based on clinical, imaging and histological parameters. We evaluated the rates of post-operative complications, potential risk factors for such complications and postoperative pregnancy rates. A total of 165 patients were included in the final analysis. The median follow-up was 63 (25-106) months. Thirty-seven patients (22.42%) had hysterectomy, 60 (36.81%) had ureterolysis and 44 (26.67%) had colorectal surgery. The overall and severe rates of post-operative complications were 16.20% (n = 23) and 2.42% (n = 4) respectively. Of the variables assessed, operative time and age were the only statistically significant risk factor for complications on multivariate analysis. Among women operated on for infertility, 34.5% (n = 20/58) got pregnant following surgery with 30% of these spontaneously. This study demonstrates acceptable overall and severe post-operative complications and pregnancy rates after deep endometriosis surgery. This information should help clinicians when counselling women to enable them making an informed choice about their management.

Surgeons' workload assessment during indocyanine-assisted deep endometriosis surgery using the surgery task load index: The impact of the learning curve

Objective

Assess the surgeons' workload during deep endometriosis surgery after ureteral ICG

Design

Prospective, consecutive, comparative, single-center study

Population

41 patients enrolled to deep endometriosis surgery with ureteral ICG from January 2019 to July 2021 at La Paz University Hospital

Methods

Patients were divided into 2 groups: patients operated during the learning curve of ureteral ICG instillation and patients operated after the technique was implemented and routinely performed. After surgery, the SURG-TLX form was completed by the surgeons. We evaluated whether a workload reduction occurred.

Main outcomes measures

Surgeon's workload was measured using the SURG-TLX form, obtaining the total workload and 6 different dimensions (distractions, temporal demands, task complexity, mental demands, situational stress and physical demands)

Results

A significant positive correlation was found between surgical complexity and situational stress (p = 0.04). Mental demands (p = 0.021), physical demands (p = 0.03), and total workload (p = 0.025) were significantly lower when the technique was routinely performed. The mental demand, physical demands, and total workload perceived by the surgeons at the beginning of the implementation was higher (68 [39–72], 27 [11–46.5], 229 [163–240], respectively) than in the latter ones (40 [9–63], 11.5 [0–32.8], 152 [133.3–213.8], respectively). Distractions appeared to be higher in the latter surgeries (8.5 [0–27.8]) than in the first surgeries (0 [0–7]; p = 0.057).

Conclusions

Ureter ICG instillation prior to DE surgery significantly reduces the mental and physical demands and total workload of the surgeons in DE surgeries after overcoming the learning curve. Distractions appear to increase as surgical stress decreases.

Challenges of and possible solutions for living with endometriosis: a qualitative study

Background

Endometriosis as a chronic gynecological disease has several negative effects on women’s life, thereby placing a huge burden on the patients and the health system. The negative impact of living with endometriosis (impaired quality of life, diverse medical experiences) is detailed in the literature, however, we know less about patients’ self-management, social support, the meaning of life with a chronic disease, and the needs of patients. To implement a proper multidisciplinary approach in practice, we need to have a comprehensive view of the complexity of endometriosis patients’ life and disease history.

Methods

Four focus group discussions were conducted between October 2014 and November 2015 by a team consisting of medical and psychological specialists. 21 women (age: 31.57; SD = 4.45) with surgical and histological confirmation of endometriosis were included in the study. Discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim, and a 62,051-word corpus was analyzed using content analysis.

Results

Four main themes emerged from the analysis: (1) the impact of endometriosis on quality of life, (2) medical experiences, (3) complementary and alternative treatments, and (4) different coping strategies in disease management. All themes were interrelated and highly affected by a lack of information and uncertainty caused by endometriosis. A supporting doctor-patient relationship, active coping, and social support were identified as advantages over difficulties. Finding the positive meaning of life after accepting endometriosis increased the possibility of posttraumatic growth. Furthermore, women’s needs were identified at all levels of the ecological approach to health promotion.

Conclusions

Our results highlight the need for multidisciplinary healthcare programs and interventions to find solutions to the difficulties of women with endometriosis. To achieve this goal, a collaboration of professionals, psychologists, and support organizations is needed in the near future.