ASO Author Reflections: Complications in Urinary Tract Extirpation

Excerpt

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the most common malignancy of the genitourinary tract among dialysis patients in Taiwan.1 Dialysis patients with UC have a significantly higher rate of multiple foci in a synchronous or metachronous fashion throughout the urinary tract than patients not receiving dialysis.2 Given that dialysis patients have poorly functioning or nonfunctioning urinary tracts, a rationale exists for extirpation of nonfunctioning or poorly functioning organs that carry significant potential for malignant transformation. One-stage complete urinary tract extirpation (CUTE, involving simultaneous bilateral nephroureterectomy with cystectomy or cystoprostatectomy) is a complex procedure associated with a significant risk of postoperative complications and mortality.3,4 Due to the relative rarity of the condition, the association between preoperative clinical characteristics, postoperative complications, and mortality for patients undergoing one-stage CUTE have not been systematically investigated. …