Novel urethral sheath to manage bladder calculi

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Surgical Technology
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Transurethral lithotripsy is a common procedure for bladder stones.
• Existing methods can be time-consuming and complex.
• Improvements in surgical tools are needed to enhance efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a new urethral sheath in transurethral lithotripsy for bladder calculi.
• To compare the performance of the new sheath against conventional methods.

Main Methods:

• 120 bladder stone (BS) models were divided into three groups (n=40 each).
• Control Group 1 used a ureteroscope; Control Group 2 used a ureteroscope via a resectoscope sheath.
• The Test Group utilized the novel JQL urethral sheath for stone removal.

Main Results:

• Mean BS removal times were significantly shorter in the test group (11.5±5.5 min) compared to Control Group 1 (86±15.5 min) and Control Group 2 (45.5±12.2 min) (P=0.001).
• This efficiency improvement was observed across various stone sizes (1.5 cm, 2.0 cm, 3.0 cm).
• The new sheath demonstrated a marked reduction in operative time for all stone sizes.

Conclusions:

• The new JQL sheath is effective for transurethral management of bladder stones.
• It significantly improves surgical efficiency, leading to a simpler and more effective operation.
• This innovation holds promise for optimizing bladder stone treatment.