Background: In this study, we present our long-term treatment outcomes of bladder augmentation (BA), bladder neck closure, and Mitrofanoff clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) in managing bladder exstrophy (BE).
Methods: This was a retrospective medical records' review of 33 children diagnosed as born with BE, followed up at a tertiary pediatric urology clinic from 1988 to 2020. Outcomes such as surgical interventions, presence of renal calculi, hydronephrosis, and continence status were extracted.
Results: The median follow-up of the group was 18.2 (4-26) years. Urinary system stones developed in 10 (30.3%) cases about 8.9 years after BA. Stone development was two times more common in patients who underwent colocystoplasty (33.3%) than those who underwent ileocytoplasty (16.6%). The state of continence of the group was satisfactory in 26 (78.7%; excellent in 23; good in 3 cases) and unsatisfactory (wet) in 6 (18.1%) cases. At the last visit, ultrasonography revealed no hydronephrosis in 23 (69.6%) patients, and the voiding cystourethrogram demonstrated low-grade vesicoureteral reflux in 10 (30.3%) and high-grade vesicoureteral reflux in 2 (6%) patients.
Conclusions: An elaborated plan of surgical reconstruction for classic BE can lead to satisfactory long-term urinary continence in most patients. Ultimate predictors of outcome in BE repair are difficult to ascertain. Consistently, BA, bladder neck closure, and Mitrofanoff CIC continue to stand out at a critical point in the management of those patients with classic BE. Our study demonstrated that augmentation is required to achieve acceptable dryness with high satisfactory dryness rates in BE.
Keywords: bladder augmentation; bladder exstrophy; continence; dryness.
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