Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Dec 26, 2018; 6(16): 1160-1163
Published online Dec 26, 2018. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v6.i16.1160
Ureteral double J stent displaced into vena cava and management with laparoscopy: A case report and review of the literature
Xia-Wa Mao, Gang Xu, Jia-Quan Xiao, Hui-Feng Wu
Xia-Wa Mao, Gang Xu, Jia-Quan Xiao, Hui-Feng Wu, Department of Urology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Mao XW designed the research; Mao XW, Xu G and Xiao JQ performed the research; Mao XW and Wu HF analyzed the data; Mao XW wrote the paper.
Supported by the Program of Medical and Health Technology Development in Zhejiang Province, No. 2016147031; and Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, No. LY14H050003.
Informed consent statement: All involved persons gave their written informed consent prior to study inclusion.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016) and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author to: Xia-Wa Mao, MD, Surgeon, Department of Urology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China. mao_xiawa@zju.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-571-87783777 Fax: +86-571-87783777
Received: September 30, 2018
Peer-review started: September 30, 2018
First decision: October 12, 2018
Revised: October 15, 2018
Accepted: October 22, 2018
Article in press: October 22, 2018
Published online: December 26, 2018
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Case characteristics

A rare case of ureteral stent displacement into the vena cava.

Clinical diagnosis

After admission, kidney, ureter, bladder X-ray (KUB) combined with computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed that the left ureteral stent was in the inferior vena cava (IVC).

Differential diagnosis

Theoretically, faulty ureteral stent positioning or placement outside of the ureter is not a rare complication. However, stent displacement into the IVC makes the case more complex and dangerous. CT scans can confirm the diagnosis.

Laboratory diagnosis

The laboratory tests showed normal plasma levels of hemoglobin (115 g/L, normal range 110-150 g/L) and minor gross hematuria (RBC3+).

Imaging diagnosis

CT reconstruction combined with KUB showed the left ureteral stent in the IVC. The upper pole of the stent was at the kidney level and the lower pole was inside the bladder.

Pathological diagnosis

Pathological examination was not necessary in this case.

Treatment

Based on previous experiences, we performed the operation laparoscopically and removed the stent successfully.

Term explanation

Ureteral stent displacement is defined as the stent not being in the right position but somewhere outside the ureter. Typically, the stent may only be placed in the nearby fat tissue and does not cause severe complications and sequelae.

Experiences and lessons

The ureteral stent has to be placed under X-ray guidance. Displacement of the stent should be suspected when unusual or unexpected bleeding occurs after endoscopic surgery.