Semi-rigid ureteroscopy: Proximal versus distal ureteral stones

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of semi-rigid ureteroscopy in proximal and distal ureteral stones, and to compare the operative and perioperative characteristics between the two stone groups.

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent semi-rigid ureteroscopy for management of ureteral stones at the International Medical Center between June 2007 and September 2012. All stones were fragmented using Holmium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) laser lithotripter. Stones located above the pelvic brim are considered proximal and below it are distal.

One hundred and ninety-one patients were included. One hundred and three patients (54%) underwent ureteroscopy for proximal stones and 88 (46%) for distal stones. The stone size in the proximal group was 10 mm (±5.5) versus 8.6 mm (±5) in the distal group. The initial stone-free rate for proximal and distal calculi were 89-98.2%, respectively. The perioperative complication rate was higher in the proximal group 10% compared to the distal group which is 1.5% (P = 0.06). Both groups have the same average of hospital stay 1.2 days.

Although there is a clinical difference between proximal and distal calculi groups in terms of complication and stone-free rates, this difference remained statistically insignificant (P = 0.06). Using a smaller caliber semi-rigid ureteroscopy combined with Holmium-YAG laser can be carried out as a day care procedure and showed a slightly higher risk in patients with proximal ureteral calculi which should be explained to the patient.