URETERIC INJURIES FOLLOWING PELVIC OPERATIONS

ABSTRACTBackground: Iatrogenic injuries to the ureter are hazardous complications of pelvicoperations, causing severe morbidity and even mortality.Objective: To present our 10 years experience in the management of such uretericinjuries.Design: A retrospective study carried out between January 1990 and December 1999.Setting: Two busy health institutions, namely Ife State hospital and Wesley GuildHospital, both of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Teaching Hospitals Complex,Ile-Ife, Nigeria.Results: The incidence of iatrogenic injury was 0.4%. Ureteral transection was thecommonest lesion (58%). Ureteroneocystostomy was performed in 70% of the operatedcases. Those diagnosed at the time of injury and treated with end-to-end anastomosishad the best results.Conclusion: The proper identification and, when necessary, isolation of the ureter duringoperations in which there is a risk is crucial in reducing the incidence of ureteral injurie