Is Outpatient Totally Tubeless Standard Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Safe and Efficacious?

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the gold standard treatment for large, complex intrarenal stones. Tubeless PCNL (t-PCNL) where no nephrostomy tube is placed and totally tubeless PCNL (tt-PCNL) in selected patients have been well described. There has been no study to our knowledge discharging patients the same day totally tubeless. In this study, we describe our experience with tt-PCNL on a totally outpatient basis-with the patient going home with absolutely no tube, catheter, or stent, evaluating its safety and efficacy vis-à-vis a comparison with outpatient t-PCNL patients discharged with an indwelling stent. We prospectively collected data from 130 consecutive patients scheduled for outpatient PCNL from August 2023 to January 2024. Demographics, stone characteristics, and intraoperative data were compared. Outcomes included postoperative (post-op) pain, stone-free rate (SFR), 30-day complications, and ED visits or readmissions. Categorical variables were compared using Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests and continuous variables via Mann-Whitney U tests. After exclusions, 53 patients underwent tt-PCNL and 50 had t-PCNL. Demographics and stone burden did not differ between groups. No visceral or pleural injuries occurred in either group. Post-op transfusion rates, SFR, 30-day complications, ED visits, and readmissions were also comparable between the two groups. The mean operative (OR) time and incidence of Clavien-Dindo I complications were higher with t-PCNL with stent (80 minutes vs 58 minutes, p < 0.001,16% vs 3.8%, p = 0.048). Post-op pain scores and postanesthesia care unit stay times were similar. In this first ever comparison of outpatient t-PCNL to tt-PCNL, we found the same-day discharge of tt-PCNL patients to be safe and effective. Stent omission in our patients did not increase the risk of RF, ED visits, complications, or readmissions. A large, multicenter, randomized prospective controlled trial will help to confirm our findings.