Percutaneous Nephrolithotripsy in the Position of the Patient Lying on His Back

Abstract

The objective: evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous nephrolithotripsy in patients in the supine position. Materials and methods. For the period 2017–2021, 521 mini-PNL were performed according to the standard technique, where in 458 (87,9%) cases the operation was performed in the patient’s prone position, and in 63 (12,1%) cases on the supine position (group 1). The control group (2 group) consisted of 70 patients, sporadically selected among 458 patients to whom PML performed in a standard prone position. Mini-PNL was performed under combined regional (spinal-epidural) anesthesia in 98,7% (514) cases, in 1,3% (7) under endotrachial anesthesia. Results. The average time of surgery was 41,1±11,4 minutes in the 1st group and 57,4±10,3 minutes in the 2nd group (р<0,05), due to the lack of need to revolutionize the patient on the abdomen. Statistically greater (p<0,05) of the ability to perform/ additional percutaneous access in patients in the supaine position. Infectious complications (9,5 vs. 7,1%; p>0,05), stone-free conditions (96,4 vs. 98,2%; p>0,05) and average hospital stays (2,3 vs. 2,2 days; p>0,05). None of the patients in both groups had complications higher than Clavien IIIa. When performing PNL in the supine position, in contrast to performing PNL on the prone position, there is always the possibility of using combined endoscopic methods. Where 3 (4,8%) patients underwent combined retro- and antegrade approaches for combination of nephrolithiasis with «wedged» calculi of the pyelourethral segment and in distal ureter, and retrograde laser endoureterotomy was performed in one (1,6%) patient. The limitation of our study includes a small sample size and a lack of group randomization. Conclusions. The patient’s position on the supine position, during the implementation of PNL, is a safe technique and can be a particularly attractive option for the category of patients with high anesthesiological risk; in the case of planned simultane (transurethral and percutaneous) interventions on the UMP; in patients who are obese or with severe deformityof the spine.