Etiology, characteristics and management of ureteric injury: experience from a nationwide study

BackgroundTo investigate the common etiologies, characteristics, and management of ureteric injury. MethodsA nationwide study was performed in 38 medical centers from Mar 2017 to Mar 2019. The data of patients with ureteric injury were retrospectively collected. ResultsOverall, 294 patients were included in this study. Ten cases (3.4%) were due to abdominal injuries, and 284 cases (96.6%) were due to iatrogenic injuries, including 48.6% from urological procedures, 41.9% from gynecological procedures, 6.3% from general surgery, and 3.2% from other treatments. Most urological injuries (79.7%) were caused by endourological procedures. Injury occurred in the distal ureter in 178 cases (60.5%), the mid-ureter in 31 cases (10.5%), and the proximal ureter in 85 cases (28.9%). Only 51 patients (17.3%) were diagnosed immediately during primary surgery. Immediate ureter reconstruction was performed in 30 patients (58.8%), while delayed urinary diversion was performed in 148 patients (60.9%) in the delayed diagnosis group. The side and the location of the injury were different between the urological and nonurological injury groups (P