Cystoscopically guided percutaneous suprapubic cystolitholapaxy in children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Urology
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• Endourology

Background:

• Pediatric bladder and posterior urethral stones pose a surgical challenge.
• Existing treatments may have limitations in terms of invasiveness or efficacy for small stones.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the safety and efficacy of endoscopically guided percutaneous suprapubic artery forceps litholapaxy.
• To assess this technique for pediatric vesical and posterior urethral stones <1 cm in diameter.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 73 children with stones <1 cm.
• Exclusion criteria included prior surgery, larger stones, multiple stones, anterior urethral stones, and anatomical abnormalities.
• Procedure involved suprapubic puncture and stone crushing under cystoscopic guidance.

Main Results:

• All 73 cases were successfully treated in a single session.
• No intraoperative complications (perforation, bleeding) were reported.
• Mean operative time was 12.5 minutes; 2 cases had transient suprapubic leakage.

Conclusions:

• Endoscopically guided percutaneous suprapubic artery forceps litholapaxy is an easy and safe method.
• The technique is effective for pediatric vesical and posterior urethral stones <1 cm.
• No significant intraoperative or postoperative complications were observed.