Robotic-assisted laparoscopic management of a caliceal diverticular calculus

To report the first case of robotic-assisted laparoscopic management of a symptomatic caliceal diverticular calculus and review the literature on laparoscopic treatment for this condition.

A 33-year-old obese woman with a 2×1 cm calculus within an anterior caliceal diverticulum located in the middle pole of the left kidney was referred to our service. She had already undergone two flexible ureterorenoscopies without success. We considered that a percutaneous approach would be very challenging due to stone location, thus we elected to perform a robotic-assisted laparoscopic procedure for stone removal and diverticulum fulguration. The procedure was uneventfully performed with no intraoperative or postoperative complications. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the second postoperative day and after 1.5 years of follow-up she is asymptomatic with no recurrence.

The robotic-assisted laparoscopic approach to caliceal diverticular calculi is feasible and safe, providing one more option for treatment of stones in challenging locations.