LAUSR

Objective To evaluate the ureteral wall injury due to ureteral access sheath insertion during flexible ureteroscopy, and to detect whether the pre-operative Double-J stenting could decrease the severity of ureteral wall injury. Methods A total of 112 patients who underwent flexible ureteroscopy were randomly divided into two groups.Patients in group A underwent Double-J stenting 2~3 weeks before flexible ureteroscopy, and patients in group B underwent flexible ureteroscopy without pre-operative Double-J stenting.The severity of ureteral wall injury duo to ureteral access sheath insertion was compared between two groups. Results In group A , there were 53 patients suffering low grade (grade 0 and grade 1) ureteral wall injury due to ureteral access sheath insertion, and only 2 patients suffering high grade (grade 2~4) injury.But in group B, there were 33 patients suffering low grade injury and 24 patients suffering high grade injury.There was statistical difference between two groups. Conclusions The insertion of ureteral access sheath will cause different grades of ureteral wall injury, and pre-operative Double-J stenting will decrease the risk of high grade injury. Key words: Ureter; Ureteroscopes; Lithotripsy