Medisur (Dec 2022)
Retrocaval ureter. Two cases report
Abstract
The retrocaval ureter is a congenital malformation in which the ureter passes behind the inferior vena cava, is compressed and causes obstruction symptoms such as hydronephrosis. This work describes two clinical cases on retrocaval ureter, for exposing the experience in its diagnosis and surgical treatment. Different imaging tests were used to detect the anomaly, and it was found that urological computed tomography is essential to confirm the diagnosis. Since both cases presented criteria for surgical intervention, open surgery was selected, performing segmental ureterostomy and end-to-end ureteroanastomosis, with which resolution of the alteration and its symptoms was achieved. There were no intraoperative complications, and the mean hospital stay was 11.5 days. In the second case, an anastomotic segment stenosis was presented as a complication six months later, which was surgically corrected without showing any further inconvenience. At present, due to the imaging methods ease use, the diagnosis of this condition and other associated malformations becomes less complex, allowing the most appropriate and individualized surgical therapy to be planned. Currently, it is recommended that the symptomatic retrocaval ureter be approached in a laparoscopy way, but we must not forget the open approach, since it provides us with technical support for the complexities of the procedure.
