Two surgical approaches for a childhood kidney condition show similar long-term success.

For children born with a condition where the tube from the kidney to the bladder is blocked, surgery is often needed. Doctors have two main minimally invasive surgical techniques to fix it: the Cohen procedure and the modified Glenn-Anderson procedure. Parents naturally want to know which one is better for their child in the long term. This study looked back at 75 children who had one of these surgeries and followed them for an average of over six years. It found that both techniques were equally successful. The chance of a child needing a second surgery was very low and similar for both groups—about 93% for Cohen and 96% for modified Glenn-Anderson. Complication rates and improvement in kidney function were also comparable. The study also showed that for a surgeon to master either technique, they need to perform it about 20 times. After that, the surgery time drops by over 30%. A review of other studies worldwide confirmed that success rates for these surgeries are extremely high overall. The main conclusion is that both are excellent options, but children need long-term check-ups to watch for any rare, late issues.