A Review of Laparoscopic Ureteral Injury in Pelvic Surgery

The objective of this study was to review the body of literature in reference to ureteral injury during laparoscopic surgeries and to determine: 1) the reported rates of ureteral injury; 2) the initial laparoscopic surgeries during which ureteral injury occurred; 3) the time of injury recognition (intra- versus postoperative); 4) the type, 5) the location, and 6) the mode of injury repair; and 7) the surgical laparoscopic instruments involved in ureteral injury. The appropriate medical subject heading (MSH) terms were selected and used in a search of the Medline computerized database and the online American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists database. World literature published in the English language on ureteral injury during laparoscopic surgery between 1966 and 2003 was reviewed.A total of 70 reported instances of ureteral injury during laparoscopic surgery were identified among 2491 reported cases in which ureteral laparoscopic complications were discussed. Incidences of injury ranged from <1% to 2%. These 2491 cases of laparoscopy were presented as a mixed group, which included case reports, small series of studies, as well as longer, consecutive studies. In 18 of the 70 (25.7%) cases, the initial laparoscopic procedures during which ureteral injury occurred were not described or specified. In cases in which the type of laparoscopic surgery was specified, 14 of the 70 (20.0%) total cases of ureteral injury occurred during laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH). Ureteral injury was identified intraoperatively in 6 of 70 (8.6%) cases, postoperatively in 49 of 70 (70.0%) cases, and, in 15 of 70 (21.4%) cases, the time of diagnosis was not specified. In 36 of the 70 (51.4%) reported injuries, the type of injury was not specified or described. In instances in which the types of injury were described, transection occurred most commonly, accounting for 14 of 70 (20.0%) injuries. The location of ureteral injury was not specified in 46 of the 70 (65.7%) cases. When location was specified, injuries most often occurred at or above the pelvic brim, accounting for 10 of the total 70 (14.3%). Electrocautery was involved in 17 of the 70 (24.3%) cases of ureteral injury, but in 34 of the 70 (48.6%) cases, the surgical laparoscopic instrument involved was not reported. A laparotomy was used to repair the ureteral injury in 43 of 70 (61.4%) cases.Ureteral injuries reported in peer-reviewed journals often lack detailed presentation of the initial laparoscopic surgeries during which ureteral injury occurred, or of the type, the location, and the instrumentation involved in ureteral injury. A high incidence of ureteral injury was found among the laparoscopic procedures analyzed in this review. Laparoscopically-assisted vaginal hysterectomy was the leading procedure in which injury occurred, and instruments involved in electrocoagulation were associated with the most injuries incurred during laparoscopic surgery.