[Carcinoma of the residual ureter many years after nephrectomy: an evasive cause of hematuria and a high risk tumor].

Any of the diseases of the upper urinary tract (lithiasis, tumor or fistula) can develop in the residual distal ureteral stump after simple or radical nephrectomy. It may take months or years before they manifest since this segment of the ureter is not involved in urinary function and is generally not visible on the IVP or US. These circumstances lead to difficulties and diagnostic errors and considerable delay in instituting appropriate treatment. Two patients with tumor of the residual ureteral stump are described. One had undergone simple nephrectomy for renal tuberculosis 38 years earlier and the other for a urothelial tumor 10 years ago. The delay in diagnosing the cause of these patients' symptoms prompted us to review the literature on the diseases of the ureteral stump, a subject that is little known and represents a challenge to the urologist.