Radiation-free monitoring in the long-term follow-up of pyeloplasty: Are ultrasound new parameters good enough to evaluate a successful procedure?

The P/C ratio and PI are new feasible ultrasound parameters in pyeloplasty follow-up. Early improvement in the P/C ratio can be expected and might avoid repeated ionizing scans. A PI > 15% in subsequent postoperative checks might be enough for safe monitoring with ultrasound alone. Thus, renograms may be solicited only in these cases where ultrasound parameters do not improve in the first 6 postoperative months. Afterwards, ultrasound parameters often remain stable in the long term. Absence of hydronephrosis could only be documented in the long term in one out of every five patients.308Figure. Graphic illustration of pelvis-cortex (P/C) ratio and percentage of improvement (PI) in anteroposterior (AP) diameter. Evolution in ultrasound parameters following a successful pyeloplasty is shown: the P/C ratio decreases and the PI in AP diameter shows values over 15%.