Objectives: Classically, the diagnosis of ectopic ureter was done in grown up girls due to urinary incontinence, today the diagnoses are more precocious, which has partially changed treatment. The objective of this paper is to perform a review of our experience over the last years and to correlate it with the current type of presentation.
Methods: We studied all patients with the diagnosis of ectopic ureter in a period of 10 years, between 1997 and December 2006. Demographic characteristics, type of presentation, diagnostic tests performed, age at the time of diagnosis and treatment were all analyzed, altogether with the different techniques employed for treatment.
Results: We found 19 patients with this disease, 15 of them females. Type of presentation was febrile urinary tract infection in 13 patients, urinary incontinence in two, and prenatal diagnosis of hydronephrosis in 4. Sixteen children had double pyeloureteral systems and only three had single systems. In all cases the diagnosis was performed with renal-bladder ultrasound, urethrocystogram and endoscopic studies. Additional studies such as excretion pyelograms were performed in 8 patients at the start of the series and nuclear medicine tests in 17. Median age at the time of diagnosis was eight months. All patients underwent surgical treatment. In patients with double systems superior heminephroureterectomy was performed in 8 patients, vesicoureteral reimplantation in three and pyelopyelic anastomosis in three cases with upper pole remnant function. In another two cases nephroureterectomy was performed due to the presence of reflux to the lower or system and severe renal compromise. In all three cases with single systems ureter reimplantation was performed.
Conclusions: Currently prenatal suspicion and adequate study of urinary tract infections enable confirmation of ectopic ureter. Few children debut with urinary incontinence currently, due to the precocity of diagnosis. Treatment is always surgical, and basically depends on renal function, and the presence or absence of vesicoureteral reflux. Vesicoureteral reimplantation is performed preferentially in patients with ectopic ureter and a single system, and superior heminephrectomy in those with double systems, leaving the distal ureter of first option.