Expanding the horizons: robot-assisted reconstructive surgery of the distal ureter.

OBJECTIVES: To report our single-center experience with robotic ureteroneocystostomy for the treatment of distal ureteral obstruction.
METHODS: We performed robot-assisted laparoscopic ureteroneocystostomies between May 2005 and October 2007. We retrospectively collected information on patient demographics, and compared renal scans with furosemide washout and radiographic imaging before and after repair to determine radiographic success. Statistical analysis was performed using statistical software via paired Student's t test analysis.
RESULTS: Eight robot-assisted laparoscopic ureteroneocystostomies on seven patients were performed over a 30-month period. The etiology of the ureteric stricture was iatrogenic injury after hysterectomy in three patients, impacted stone in three, and infiltrative endometriosis in one. Mean stricture length was 2.2 cm. Right ureteroneocystostomy was performed in five patients and on the left in one, while one patient had bilateral disease. Mean operative time was 247 minutes (range 120-480), and average blood loss was 109 mL (range 50-200). Mean length of hospital stay was 2 days. All the procedures were completed successfully robotically without open conversion. Of the seven patients, one patient experienced recurrent symptoms. Subsequent imaging confirmed an anastomotic narrowing, which was treated by balloon dilation. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. Subsequent (99m)Tc-mercaptoacetyltriglycine scans showed no evidence of obstruction. After a mean follow-up of 18 months (range 5-31), relative renal function of the entire group of patients improved after ureteroneocystostomy, although this did not achieve statistical significance (p = 0.26).
CONCLUSIONS: Robotic ureteroneocystostomy is a safe and effective treatment option for the management of distal ureteric stricture disease.