ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate different types of failure after minimally-invasive pyeloplasty (MIP) when stratified by initial radiologic study and symptoms after ureteral stent removal. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed adults who underwent MIP (1996-2019) at a single academic center. Patients with at least 11 months of follow-up and patients who had a Mag3 scan as their initial postoperative imaging were included. Postprocedure, patients were categorized as having normal, equivocal, or obstructed imaging based on their initial radiologic test. Patients who were obstructed were excluded. Primary outcome was procedural failure, defined as the need for a procedure to treat recurrent obstruction. Secondary outcomes were radiologic failure and symptomatic failure. Groups were compared to assess for statistical significance (P <.05). RESULTS: Overall, 122 patients met inclusion criteria. On initial postoperative imaging, 108 (89%) patients had no obstruction and 14 (11%) had equivocal findings. The procedural failure rate was 6.5% in the unobstructed group and 28.6% in the equivocal group (P = .023). Seven unobstructed patients (6.5%) and 2 equivocal patients (14.3%) eventually experienced radiologic failure (P = .275). Among patients who had no obstruction on initial imaging and remained asymptomatic, only one (0.9%) required a salvage procedure. CONCLUSION: Recurrent obstruction after pyeloplasty varied based on the outcome of the initial radiologic study. These rates can be used to counsel patients and guide physicians' choice of surveillance schedules. The risk of future failure is very low in asymptomatic patients with normal initial imaging. The utility of routine radiologic surveillance in these patients may be limited.