Substitution of the ureter with a segment of the major saphenous vein in dogs

: In this preliminary experiment of the possibility of substituting an segment of ureter with a segment of the saphenous vein in dogs, authors are showing the histological changes on the veno-ureteric anastomosis and the normal morpho-functional condition of the kidney. The experiment was performed on two adult male dogs. In both animals, the transperitoneal approach was used to reach the ureter, which was then liberated from the neighbouring structures in the length of approximately 5 cm. A segment of the ureter was then substituted with a segment of the saphenous vein, in the length of approximately 2 cm. The suture of the anastomosis was done with unresorptive material (Prolene 6/0). The suture went through the adventitions and muscular layers of the ureter and the venous wall. In the first dog after two, and in the second after four months after the operation, an intravenous urography was done. It showed undistorted kidney function, without significant morfological changes of the pyelocaliceal system and the ureter. Histoological analysis of the specimen, taken from the anastomosis, proved the vitality of the venous transplant.