[Ureteral injuries in gynaecologic surgery]

Surgical injury to the ureter is an important problem that confronts the urologist, the gynaecologist and the general surgeon. We report 38 cases of iatrogenic ureteral injuries observed after gynaecological surgery between January 1972 and December 2004. Hysterectomy accounted for 22 injuries. Injuries were intra-operatively recognized in 3 cases and were treated immediately. In the cas of lesions identified secondarily, a ureter-vesical implantation was performed in 66% of cases with a good result in 84% of them. Four patients required nephrectomy. We discuss the cicumstances of development, diagnosis approach and treatment of this lesion and review the literature about this subject