Advances in ureteroscopy

Abstract

Upper urinary tract visualization and treatment have been augmented by recent advancements in ureteroscopic technology. In addition, at some institutions ureteroscopy has become a common urologic procedure and is even the most common of all hospital-based urologic interventions. Advances in ureteroscopy include a technical reduction in the size of the endoscopes, improvements in electronic imaging systems, a proliferation of ancillary equipment, and widespread dissemination of advanced endourologic skills. In this issue of the Urologic Clinics of North America, we are graced by a wealth of endo-urologic talent from which to draw, and the authors have done a remarkable job detailing the advances in each of their sections. Virtually every area of the upper urinary tract is now amendable to a ureteroscopic procedure. Demetrius Bagley, the modern Prometheus of ureteroscopic surgery, begins the issue with an overview of the changes affecting current ureteroscopists. Next, the historical aspects are reviewed by the team from the University of California– Davis. Anatomical and physiologic considerations are discussed by the group at Yale University. The technology behind modern endoscopes is reviewed by the University of California–Irvine group, followed by an update on video and imaging systems from Duke University group. The size of ureteroscopes continues to diminish and is now within the physiologic range of the nor-