[Do postoperative drainage types modify outcomes after retrograde intrarenal surgery?]

The aim of the current study was to evaluate if the postoperative drainage type modified the outcomes after retrograde flexible ureteroscopy (f-URS) and intracorporeal lithotripsy f-URS for intrarenal stones.

We retrospectively analyzed 162 procedures of f-URS for intrarenal stones between January 2010 and January 2013 at a single institute. Independent-sample t-tests and chi-square tests were used for comparisons of means and proportions between patients with ureteral stent or double pigtail stents.

There were 86 males (52.8%) and 77 females (47.3%) with a mean age of 52.8 ± 17 years. Double pigtail stents and ureteral stents were used in 117 (72.2%) and 45 (27.8%) cases, respectively. Cases with postoperative double pigtail stents had a longer operative time (96.2 ± 35 min vs 81.2 ± 5 min; P = 0.018) and were less often operated by an experienced surgeon (P = 0.001). Length of hospital staying (P = 0.804), postoperative complication (P = 0.148) and stone free status (P = 0.116) were not different between postoperative drainage by double pigtail and ureteral stents.

Postoperative drainage by double pigtail stent was used more often by surgeons in the beginning of their RIRS experience and was associated with longer operation time. Nevertheless, the postoperative drainage type did not modify the outcomes regarding the postoperative complication rate, the length of hospital staying and the stones free rate.