Palmer and Palmer used a child's age to help determine the proper length for a double-J ureteral stent. The authors are from the Cleveland Clinic and Schneider Children's Hospital of the North Shore in New York.
Features of the double-J stent: one coil is in the renal pelvis and the second coil is in the urinary bladder, with the coils reducing the chances of stent migration
Patient selection: from 2 months to almost 18 years old
recommended stent length in cm =
= (age of the patient in years) + 10
Adjustments:
(1) If the recommended length does not match a manufactured length, then the following rules might be considered:
(1a) choosing the next smaller size if the person is short for age and choosing the next larger size if the patient is tall for age
(1b) rounding the age up or down
(2) The same 10 cm length would be recommended for all infants. A young infant may need a shorter stent (8 cm) while an older infant who is large for age may require a 12 cm stent.
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