Retroperitoneal vs transperitoneal laparoscopic pyelolithotomy; a single surgeon's experience
1Department of Urology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. H_pakmanesh@yahoo.com.
Objective:
To compare the outcomes of transperitoneal and retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyelolithotomy procedures.
Methods:
A total of 104 consecutive laparoscopic pyelolithotomy surgeries performed by a single surgeon on patients with staghorn or renal pelvic calculi larger than 20 mm were evaluated. Intraoperative and postoperative clinical parameters from two groups, transperitoneal (TLPL) (N = 55) and retroperitoneal (RLPL) (N = 49), were compared. The surgeon performed TLPL for the first five years and then switched to the RLPL approach for the next five years.
Results:
There were no significant differences in general demographic variables and stone size (26.55 vs. 24.73 mm, P = 0.8). Operation time and change in serum creatinine levels did not significantly differ between the two approaches. However, patients who underwent TLPL had longer hospital stays than RLPL (3.23 ± 1.21 vs. 2.36 ± 1.10 days, P = 0.0001). Additionally, TLPL was associated with a greater drop in hemoglobin levels (1.53 ± 1.04 vs. 1.17 ± 0.68, P = 0.04), higher rates of postoperative fever (12.7% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.01).
Conclusions:
The retroperitoneal approach in laparoscopic pyelolithotomy for large renal pelvic stones resulted in fewer postoperative fevers, reduced hemoglobin drops, and shorter hospital stays than the transperitoneal approach. However, the stone-free rates were similar for both groups.
