Does endoscopic puncture of ureterocele provide not only an initial solution, but also a definitive treatment in all children? Over the 26 years of experience

Purpose We have retrospectively evaluated all patients who underwent endoscopic puncture (EP) of ureterocele over the last 26 years with special reference to the need in the second intervention and disease-free status. Methods 78 (69%) of the 112 patients following EP and completed follow-up were included. 51 (65%) were diagnosed prenatally and 27 (35%) postnatally. 46 patients (60%) had intravesical, while 32 (40%) had ectopic ureterocele. Median age at time of puncture was 4 months. Median time of the follow-up was 12 years (range 1–26 years), while 23 (30%) followed over 10 years and 15 (19%) completed adolescent period. Results Four children with ectopic ureterocele required secondary puncture. Ectopic ureterocele children had significantly more postoperative UTIs (13 (40%) ectopic vs 4 (19%) intravesical p = 0.047). 19 RRUs (44%) showed spontaneous resolution of VUR. 14 (18%) children required additional surgery: 7, endoscopic correction of VUR; 3, ureteral reimplantation and 4, partial nephrectomy. The need for additional surgery following puncture was higher in the group of children with ectopic ureterocele; however, this difference did not reach a statistical significance ( p = 0.716). Conclusions Our data show that EP of ureterocele is a durable and long-term effective procedure in vast majority of the children.