Obstruction of the upper urinary tract (UUT) is a heterogeneous clinical case, which, if necessary or in case of complications, is relieved by percutaneous nephrostomy or ureteral JJ-stent placement, which have its «pros and cons» in relation to complications, costs, difficulties in performing various pathological conditions, quality of life of patients and further treatment. The European Association of Urology Guidelines on Urolithiasis 2024 are based on the 2010’s data review., fourteen years later, the optimal method of UUT decompression in various pathological conditions remains under debate. In this lecture we present methods, indications, contraindications, complications, quality of life of patients under various methods of UUT draining, as well as the benefits of ureteral stenting and percutaneous nephrostomy.

Keywords: retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy, upper urinary tract tumors, pyelonephritis in pergnancy, obstructive pyelonephritis, percutaneous nephrostomy, retroperitoneal fibrosis, upper urinary tract, obstruction, ureteral stenting, renal colic, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, urolithiasis