Open Access

ARTICLE

Double-J ureteral stent under local anesthesia for women

Julie Carrouget¹, Myriam Ammi¹, Sigismond Lasocki², Souhil Lebdai¹, Elena Brassart¹, Dorothée Geslin³, Stéphane Larre⁴, Thibaut Culty¹, Denis Chautard¹, Abdel Rahmène Azzouzi¹, Pierre Bigot¹

1 Department of Urology, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France
2 Department of Anesthesia, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France
3 Angers University, Angers, France
4 Department of Urology, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
Address correspondence to Dr. Pierre Bigot, Department of Urology, Angers University Hospital, 5 rue Larrey, 49000 Angers, France

Canadian Journal of Urology 2014, 21(1), 7120-7124.

Abstract

Introduction: Ureteral stent placement is a key urologic procedure used to manage ureteral obstructions. It is usually performed under general anesthesia (GA) with its inherent risks. The objective was to evaluate safety, feasibility and tolerance of ureteral stent placement under local anesthesia (LA) in women.
Materials and methods: From January 2010 to January 2013, we prospectively and consecutively reviewed all female patients who had an urgent retrograde ureteral stent placement under LA. Only primary stent placements were included in the study. Pain was assessed after surgery by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and pain and comfort assessment during stent placement were reported. We compared outcomes and tolerance with patients under general anesthesia (GA) matched by age and operative indications during the same period.
Results: We included 36 patients (18 under LA and 18 under GA) with a mean age of 59.4 +/- 22.4 years. The mean operative time was 24.4 +/- 12.9 min and 18.8 +/- 6.5 min in LA group and GA group (p = 0.110), respectively. One patient needed GA due to a poor tolerance. The mean perioperative VAS scores under LA and GA were 5.89 +/- 2.95 and 2.06 +/- 2.67 (p < 0.0001), respectively. There were no intraoperative complications in either group. The procedure was painful for 16 (88.8%) patients from the LA group and 9 (50%) patients would not accept to undergo this intervention under LA again.
Conclusion: Ureteral stent placement under LA in women can be performed safely and effectively. However, this procedure is painful and should be proposed only to selected cases.

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