Kidney and urinary tract injuries. Experience with 113 cases

BACKGROUND: Trauma of the kidney and urinary tract is not rare in emergency surgery and the related treatment needs today high competence and interdisciplinary approach. Aim of the study was to analyze the personal experience in order to find differences in the treatment during the last years especially for trauma of the kidney. METHODS: The authors report 113 cases of kidney or urinary tract trauma out of 16,569 patients admitted in emergency between 1981 and 1995. Fifty patients (44%) underwent surgery. Thirty patients (26%) underwent surgery for kidney trauma but in only 5 (16%) conservative surgery for partial damage was possible. Section of the ureter occurred in one patient. Ten patients had a rupture of the bladder and 9 the rupture of urethra. The cause of trauma was a gunshot wound in 11 patients (22%). Nineteen patients (38%) had also damage to other organs. RESULTS: The results show absence of morbidity or mortality related with urinary tract trauma. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of these cases shows that the improvement of diagnostic possibilities allowed the reduction of surgical interventions especially for kidney trauma.