Additional surgery in patients with bladder augmentation

Abstract

Introduction: Bladder augmentation is an option to protect kidneys and treat incontinence in frequent neurogenic and congenital non-neurogenic disorders. However, patients may need also other procedures to treat incontinence or to aid catheterizations. In addition, the patients are prone to complications.

Objective: To evaluate complications or additional surgeries in augmentation cystoplasty according to the etiology of the bladder dysfunction.

Study design: Data on additional surgical procedures related to bladder augmentation were collected from 128 patients who had undergone enterocystoplasty between 1990 and 2019, with a median age of 10.1 years (IQR 7.2-12.8) and a follow-up time of 11.8 years (IQR 5.7-18.6) after augmentation.

Results: Eighty-three patients had a neurogenic disease, and 45 patients had a non-neurogenic disease. Bladder neck operations were performed either at the time of or after augmentation for 62 patients (48.4%), more commonly in the non-neurogenic than neurogenic group <0.01. In addition, continent stoma operations in 56 (36.8%) patients were more common in the non-neurogenic group (p < 0.01). Ten patients received kidney transplantation (four in the neurogenic, six in the non-neurogenic group); seven of these patients originally had dysplastic kidneys, two developed nephrological kidney disease, and one had hydronephrosis and renal insufficiency at the time of diagnosis of neurogenic bladder. Surgical problems resulting from bladder augmentation were treated in 28 patients (21.8%). The risk for surgical treatment because of complications was 4%, 17%, 24%, 27% and 27% at 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 years follow up respectively. Complications were more common in patients in non-neurogenic than in patients with neurogenic group (p < 0.01). However, the greater proportion of continent stomas in non-neurogenic group explained the difference (Fig.). The most frequent complication requiring surgery during follow-up was bladder stones, which occurred in 24 (18.8%) patients. The first stone was treated at a median of 3.3 years (range 0.3-14.2) after augmentation. Stones were more common in patients with a continent stoma than without (p < 0.01). Other indications for surgical treatment were as follows: obstructive ileus in five patients, reduced bladder capacity in three patients, bladder perforation in two patients and lobulated bladder with infections in one patient.

Conclusions: The risk for surgical treatment was about 27% in 20-year follow-up after bladder augmentation, because of augmentation related complications. The most prevalent complication was bladder stone, that was mainly associated with continent stomas. Continent stomas were most prevalent in patients with non-neurogenic diagnosis.

Keywords: Augmentation; Complication; Continent stoma; Enterocystoplasty; Neurogenic bladder; Nonneurogenic bladder.