Retained Urethral Catheter Secondary to Placement in Proximal Ureter.

We present an unusual complication secondary to indwelling urethral catheter placement. Routine catheter placement by the obstetrics team in a postpartum female leads to retention of the catheter and inability of its removal by both the obstetrics and urology teams. Although a retained urinary catheter is relatively common, inability to remove a catheter secondary to placement inadvertently into a ureter is extremely rare. In this paper we will discuss the options in removing a retained catheter and present our case of a retained catheter secondary to placement within the right proximal ureter.

Renal primitive neuroectodermal tumour: Case series and brief review.

Renal primitive neuroectodermal tumor is a rare malignancy. These tumours rarely present with caval involvement. We report 2 cases of primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNETs) with inferior vena cava involvement. The initial presentation and outcomes differed significantly. The diagnosis was confirmed using histologic and pathologic analysis. We present a brief literature review and an outline of typical clinical and pathologic features of renal PNETs.

Unanticipated intra-operative finding of pulmonary artery tumour thromboembolism during radical nephrectomy and caval thrombectomy: Case report and management.

We report a case of an unanticipated intra-operative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) finding of pulmonary artery thromboembolism in a 72-year-old woman being prepared for radical nephrectomy and caval thrombectomy. Upon intra-operative TEE to evaluate the extent of caval thrombus, we found a pulmonary artery tumour thromboembolism in an otherwise asymptomatic patient after induction and prior to surgery. A chest computed tomography confirmed a large saddle tumour thromboembolus. A multidisciplinary approach was used to facilitate radical nephrectomy with caval thrombectomy and pulmonary artery thromboembolectomy. This case shows the importance of adequate perioperative imaging and use of intra-operative TEE to evaluate the extent of disease. To our knowledge, we are the first to present a case of RCC with cava tumour thrombus in which the pulmonary artery tumour thromboembolism was detected incidentally on intraoperative TEE.

Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy in a patient with a left ventricular assist device.

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy is an established treatment option for select patients with advanced heart failure. Advances in technology and patient management have resulted in improved post-implant outcomes. Consequently, more patients with LVADs are presenting for evaluation and care of non-cardiac surgical disease. However, there is a paucity of literature regarding the optimal perioperative and surgical management of such patients. We present the case of a 71-year-old male with a HeartMate II (Thoratec Corporation, Pleasanton, CA) LVAD, who underwent a laparoscopic left nephroureterectomy for an upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma. His perioperative course was uneventful due to the multidisciplinary efforts of cardiac surgery, cardiac anesthesia, nephrology and urology. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a laparoscopic nephroureterectomy in a patient with a HeartMate II LVAD.