Percutaneous nephrolithotomy: Three-needle technique on two planes. Cury's technique

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is the main type of surgery indicated for kidney stones larger than 2 cm. The present study describes a three-needle technique for percutaneous nephrolithotomy on two planes.

The patient is first placed in the lithotomy position for cystoscopy, which guides the ureteral and urethral catheter. Next, the patient is placed in ventral decubitus for the three-needle technique. With the aid of the nephroscope, the first needle is positioned in the projection of the renal pelvis, the second needle is placed in the most posterior of the inferior calyces and the third needle is aligned with the other two at the most depressible point determined by the surgeon's index finger. After alignment in the topography of the third needle, an incision is made with the scalpel 1-2 cm perpendicular to the aponeurosis of the latissimus dorsi muscle. The second needle is replaced with a peridural needle, which is used to confirm the location of the inferior renal calyx and limit the depth of the Chiba needle inserted in the topography of the third needle, forming a 90° angle with the peridural needle. The Chiba needle enables the passage of the guidewire and subsequent dilatation until the 30F caliber for the passage of the Amplatz dilator, initiating the conventional procedure.

The technique described has been used at our service for 15 years and has the advantages of less morbidity, fewer complications and less use of the nephrostomy tube. The technique is also easy to learn and highly reproducible.