Use of a Holmium laser to treat a forgotten double-J stent with whole stent encrustations: a case report.

Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 2009 Oct;25(10):567-71

Authors: Tsai CC, Shen JT, Huang SP, Chang SF, Tsai LJ, Wu WJ, Huang CH

Short-term placement of double-J (D-J) ureteral stents after endourologic procedures and some open urological surgery is common. It is rare for a patient to forget about the indwelling D-J ureteral stent, and the major complications associated with that include infection, stone encrustation and multifractured stent. We report a case of a forgotten D-J ureteral stent, which had been placed 24 months previously during ureterorenoscopic lithotripsy, in a 62-year-old man who presented with flank soreness and recurrent urinary tract infection. Radiography of the kidney, ureter and bladder, and computed tomography demonstrated stone encrustation over the whole D-J stent. Cystolithotripsy and ureterorenoscopic lithotripsy with a Holmium laser were performed to remove the D-J. We believe that this is the first case of successful removal of an intact, encrusted stent in one procedure by endoscopic manipulation.

PMID: 19767264 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]