Use of a Holmium Laser to Treat a Forgotten Double-J Stent With Whole Stent Encrustations: A Case Report

Short-term placement of double-J (D-J) ureteral stents after endourologic procedures and some open urological surgery is common. It is rare for a patient to forget about the indwelling D-J ureteral stent, and the major complications associated with that include infection, stone encrustation and multifractured stent. We report a case of a forgotten D-J ureteral stent, which had been placed 24 months previously during ureterorenoscopic lithotripsy, in a 62-year-old man who presented with flank soreness and recurrent urinary tract infection. Radiography of the kidney, ureter and bladder, and computed tomography demonstrated stone encrustation over the whole D-J stent. Cystolithotripsy and ureterorenoscopic lithotripsy with a Holmium laser were performed to remove the D-J. We believe that this is the first case of successful removal of an intact, encrusted stent in one procedure by endoscopic manipulation.