Management of Forgotten Ureteral Stents: Relationship Between Indwelling Time and Required Treatment Approaches

Background: Double-J stents are widely used in urologypractice, and removal of these stents can sometimes beforgotten.Aims: To investigate whether indwelling time ofdouble-J stent can predict which treatment modality isrequired for removal of the stent from the body.Study Design: A multicentre, retrospective observationalstudy.Methods: The data of 57 patients who were treatedfor forgotten ureteral stents between January 2007 andDecember 2014 were evaluated retrospectively. Patientswere classified into four groups according to indwellingtime of the stents: 6-12 months, 13-24 months, 25-36months, and >36 months. Encrustation and associatedstone burden of the stents were evaluated with noncontraststone protocol computerised tomography.Results: Patients were classified according to theirduration of the stent indwelling time. Simple cystoscopicstent retrieval was performed in 71.4% of patients inthe 6-12 months group, 44% of patients in the 13-24months group, 6.2% of patients in the 25-36 monthsgroup, and 11.1% of patients in the >36 months group. Apercutaneous or open surgery was required in no patientswith an indwelling time of double-J stent shorter than 30months.Conclusion: Transurethral and/or percutaneouscombined endo-urological approaches are usuallysufficient for the removal of forgotten double-J stents.Transurethral procedures are sufficient for the treatmentof patients with double-J stent indwelling times less than30 months.