Malignant ureteral obstruction: experience and comparative analysis of metallic versus ordinary polymer ureteral stents

Abstract

Abstract Background To study the outcome and experience of using metallic stents in treating patients with malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO). Methods Seventy-six patients with MUO were assigned to the metallic stent group (MSG) or the ordinary polymer stent group (OPSG) according to the different materials. The success rate of the operation, duration of operation, patency rate serum creatinine values ,postoperative complications and QOL scores were compared between the two groups. Results In the OPSG and MSG, the success rates of the operation were 95.5% and 96.9%, respectively, and the durations of the operation were 20.6 ± 2.2 min and 50.9 ± 10.3 min (P 0.05); however, the creatinine values at 3 days after the operation decreased significantly compared with those before the operation (P 0.05). The total rate of post-procedural complication was lower in the MSG than that in the OPSG(P 0.05); however, the QOL scores at 6 months and 1 year after the operation were higher in the MSG than that in the OPSG(P 0.05). On the contrary, the differences of QOL score in the OPSG group were much significant between disparate time intervals (P < 0.05). Conclusions For patients with MUO who require long-term retention of the stent, metallic stents with longer indwelling time are superior to ordinary polymeric stents.

Keywords

• Metallic stent
• Contrast study
• Malignant
• Ureteral obstruction