Use of renal resistive index and semi-rigid ureteroscopy for managing symptomatic persistent hydronephrosis during pregnancy

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) and semi-rigid ureteroscopy (URS) for managing symptomatic persistent hydronephrosis during pregnancy. Materials and methods The study included 19 pregnant patients with unilateral symptomatic persistent hydronephrosis. All pregnant patients were assessed with conventional ultrasonography (US) followed by DUS for both kidneys. Results The mean patient age was 26 years (range 19–40), and the gestational period was 24 weeks (range 16–33). There was a significantly higher mean resistive index in the kidneys with ureteral obstruction than in the contralateral normal kidneys. Spinal anesthesia was performed on 18 patients, while general anesthesia was performed on 1 patient. Endoscopically stones were found in 17 patients (89.5%), while no stone was found in 2 patients (10.5%). The stones were fragmented by holmium laser and retracted with forceps. After lithotripsy, a ureteral JJ stent was inserted in 8 of 17 (47%) patients with ureteral stones. Intraoperatively, there were no obstetric complications, while ureteral perforation was seen in one patient. Two patients are still pregnant at the time of this writing, and 17 babies were born normally. Conclusions Both RI and ΔRI increase in unilateral symptomatic persistent hydronephrosis during pregnancy. Semi-rigid URS can be used successfully for diagnosis and treatment in these patients.