ORIGINAL ARTICLE Intraoperative contrast-enhanced urosonography

Background There are many controversies surrounding the effectiveness of endoscopic treatment of vesicouretheral re-flux (VUR) in children, thus it is of highest priority to analyze factors influencing the outcome of therapy and to search for new methods that would increase the success rate and reduce the number of reinjections. Objective The aim of the study was to analyze whether intra-operative contrast-enhanced urosonography (ce-US) may in-crease the effectiveness of endoscopic anti-reflux therapy. Materials and methods Intraoperative contrast-enhanced urosonography (ce-US) with SonoVue ® was performed in 17 patients (25 ureteral units) undergoing endoscopic treat-ment of VUR. Ce-US was performed in the operating room before the procedure and after injection of the bulking mate-rial. When VUR persisted, the operator repeated the injection, which was followed by ce-US. The results were compared with those obtained from a control group (15 patients; 22 ureteral units). Results A repeat injection during a single endoscopic treat-ment was required in 24 % of cases. The overall success rate confirmed at 6–12 months ’ follow-ups was 84%. The success rate was significantly higher in comparison to the control group (success: 64%). Conclusion Intraoperative ce-US performed during endo-scopic treatment of VUR enables immediate monitoring of outcome and provides the opportunity for repeat injection during the same procedure, thus increasing the efficacy of the procedure and reducing the number of reinjections