2. One or both ureters have been cut or completely divided with
scissors, or knife, in removal of the uterus.
3. A segment of a ureter 7 centimetres in length has been accidentally
exsected.
4. One or both ureters have been compressed by clamps applied to
restrain bleeding in the course of vaginal hysterectomy, and
subsequently sloughed.
5. Ureters exposed in the course of ‘radical’ operations for cancer of
the neck of the uterus often slough.
6. A ureter is sometimes transfixed by a needle and thread when sewing
the layers of the broad ligament together in the course of a subtotal
hysterectomy.
The most dangerous injury to the ureters occurs in the course of a
subtotal hysterectomy, especially if it is not recognized at the time of
the operation. In such circumstances the urine will slowly leak into the
connective tissue of the broad ligament and form an extravasation
extending into the loin.
In some cases the fluid will leak directly into the pelvis, and a sinus
will form in the abdominal wound and allow the urine to escape; this may
be the first intimation that a ureter has been injured, whereas when a
ureter has sustained damage in the course of a total abdominal or a
vaginal hysterectomy, the leakage of urine along the vagina will quickly
apprise the surgeon of the accident.
There is another form of injury to the ureter which should be mentioned.
Occasionally a fibroid, but more often a cyst or tumour arising from the
base of the broad ligament, will involve the corresponding ureter and
carry it upwards in such a way that, when the layers of the broad
ligament are reflected, the ureter will be found crossing the crown of
the tumour like a strap. In such a case the pressure has usually exerted
a banal influence on the kidney, and it is often in the condition known
as sacculation. In a case under my own care in which I attempted to
remove a malignant tumour of the broad ligament, and in which the ureter
ran over its upper pole in this way, thinking it was an adhesion,
traction was made upon it, and the ureter came away with a portion of
the renal pelvis. At the post-mortem examination the kidney was merely a
thin-walled sac with purulent contents.
In all cases in the course of an abdominal hysterectomy it is useful for
the surgeon to inform himself of the condition of the kidneys. Whilst
performing a subtotal hysterectomy, one of the fibroids burrowed deeply
between the layers of the left broad ligament; when all the bleeding was
checked, I looked carefully to determine that the ureter was safe, and
found it kinked by the ligature applied to the corresponding uterine
artery; it was at once removed. On palpating the kidneys I found the
right kidney small, and shrunken, and useless. Fortunately the woman
recovered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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