Percutaneous nephrolithotomy using fluoroscopic guided renal access

Abstract

Objective: To report our experience of over 500 patients treated with Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) at a tertiary as well as secondary Care hospital. Despite PCNL's early success as a minimally invasive treatment option, its popularity has waned after the advent of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL). Over time, however, urologists were forced to rethink the role of PCNL in the treatment of Urolithiasis after clinical experience with ESWL revealed its limitations, particularly for lower pole stones with anatomical complexity and the challenges faced for open surgical procedures, particularly stones in an intrarenal pelvis. Urologists have advanced into the era of ever-expanding PCNL versatility thanks to advancements in tools, camera systems, and intracorporeal lithotripsy technology, and they now have expert skills of percutaneous stone dissolution in to all parts of the kidney. Patients and Methods: Between 2013 and 2019, 500 participants (358 males, 142 females, and aged 15-55 years) were addressed with PCNL by a single Urologist in our institution at both a tertiary care hospital and a secondary care hospital. Stones averaged 2.5 cm in diameter (ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 cm).