Introduction: Treatment of posterior urethral valves (PUV) is now most commonly by endoscopic valve ablation, but this is not readily available in our environment. We describe our experience with Mohan's valvotome for the ablation of PUV.
Materials and methods: All patients with PUV who underwent Mohan's valvotomy over a 28-month period from June 2006 were reviewed.
Results: There were 35 patients. The median age was 1.5 years (mean age 3.0 years, range 11 days to 14 years). Eleven (31.4%) and 24 (68.6%) patients received the treatment under local and general anaesthesia, respectively. Adequate relief of obstruction was achieved in all patients with marked improvement in the urinary stream. Complications were recorded in two (5.7%) patients; one was re-operated because of recurrent urinary retention, and the other had urinary incontinence which resolved after 3 months. At follow-up of 1-28 months (median 14 months), three (8.6%) patients had died from sepsis and malnutrition. The 32 (91.4%) surviving have good urinary stream, normal renal function (serum creatinine level <1.5mg/dl) and resolution of hydronephrosis as demonstrated on ultrasound. There was no mortality resulting directly from the use of Mohan's valvotomy.
Conclusion: Mohan's valvotome is an effective instrument for the ablation of PUV. It is invaluable in the developing world where paediatric endoscopes are not readily available.