The Silastic Ureter

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the use of silicone rubber tubing, passed cystoscopically and left indwelling from the pelvis through the ureter and into the bladder. Medical-grade silicone rubber possesses certain properties which make it suitable for long-term implantation in the urinary tract. It is flexible, excites minimal tissue or fluid reaction, can be autoclaved, and will not degenerate. The silicone rubber tubing technique can be used as a method of treatment in patients with carcinomatous obstruction of the ureter, ureterovaginal fistula, severe ureteral stricture, and infected hydronephrosis of pregnancy with sepsis. The technique has proven to be a valuable substitute for open surgical urinary diversion by nephrostomy or ureterostomy.