Ureteral splints: results of a survey.

The results of a survey concerning ureteral splints are reported. Of the respondents 70 per cent preferred the term splint to stent. There was general agreement that a splint should be used in any complicated pyeloplasty as well as in any patient undergoing an operation on the ureter or ureteropelvic junction draining a solitary kidney. Additionally, use of a splint after repair of ureteral injuries by a general urologist was believed advisable. Splints are not absolutely necessary in uncomplicated pyeloplasties and in most simple ureteroneocystostomies. Most urologists use ureteral splints, and believe that they do little or no harm and rather consistently terminate in a good postoperative result.