title: Reinforcement for percutaneous nephrostomy tubes with a new technique.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) still plays a significant role in decompressing the renal collecting system. Percutaneous nephrostomy tubes (PNTs), however, which are flexible and may not be protected well by patients, are vulnerable to mechanical drag, although they are carefully fixed to the skin with silk suture. We developed a simple method to reinforce the nephrostomy tube against dislodgement from the skin.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 133 adult patients underwent ultrasonography-guided PCN; 85 patients received a conventional method to fix the tubes, while the other 48 patients received a new one. We used a rubber drainage tube, about 2 cm long, sheared longitudinally, as the outer tube to encase the nephrostomy tube, and then sutured the cutting edges together with the skin suture to reinforce the nephrostomy tube.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the 85 patients who received the conventional method, there was not any tube dislodgement after PCN in the 48 patients who received the new one at the end of 2 weeks (0 vs 7, P=0.049) and 4 weeks (0 vs 10, P=0.014) follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is a simple, effective, and inexpensive method that can significantly decrease the dislodgement incidence of PNTs and keep them fixed well after surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yonghan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Chuanliang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Linhui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Yinghao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009403:Nephrostomy, Percutaneous / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*