Comparison of Middle and Lower Calyceal Access for Renal Pelvis Stone in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: A Prospective...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible effects of calyceal choice for renal puncture under sonographic guidance on the outcomes of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL).

A total of 70 patients for whom ultrasound-guided PNL was planned for 20-30-mm single renal pelvic stones were prospectively allocated to group 1 (n:35) with middle calyx entry or group 2 (n:35) with lower calyx entry. Procedure-related parameters such as duration of operation, stone-free rates, complication rates, and radiation exposure time were analyzed in detail.

The mean age of the patients was 45.67 ± 1.50 years and the mean stone size was 316.4 ± 17.95 mm2. There was no significant difference regarding the age, BMI, stone burden, and the grade of hydronephrosis between the groups. Skin to collecting system distance was significantly shorter in the middle calyx entrance (p = 0.021). Total duration of the procedure was again significantly shorter in group 1 cases (74.69 ± 2.94 min) than in group 2 (84.29 ± 4.25 min) (p = 0.003). Regarding the success rates, the postoperative stone-free rate was higher in group 1 (91.4% in group 1, 80.0% in group 2, p = 0.305). Last, there was no statistically significant difference in hemoglobin reduction rates, blood transfusion requirements, and complication rates between the 2 groups.

Getting access to the renal pelvis through the middle calyx during ultrasonic guided PNL procedure is more advantageous to lower the calyceal approach by reducing both the duration of the PNL procedure with significantly higher stone-free and comparable complication rates.