Purpose of review: While urologists are traditionally taught to perform percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) utilizing exclusively fluoroscopy, ultrasound has emerged as a safe alternative. This article showcases the major reasons why ultrasound-guided access should be considered the first-line approach for performing access for PCNL.
Recent findings: There continues to be a need to further reduce radiation exposure in the management of kidney stone patients. This review showcases how performing ultrasound-guided PCNL has been associated with a shorter learning curve, increased patient safety, and the ability to perform x-ray free PCNL. Ultrasound-guided PCNL is not only an achievable skill for urologists to learn but provides multiple advantages over traditional fluoroscopic access. As every effort should be given to help reduce radiation exposure for kidney stone patients as well as performing surgeons and operating theater personnel, endourologists should strive to add this technique to their armamentarium.
Keywords: Endourology; Fluoroscopic-guided percutaneous access; Kidney calculi; Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL); Radiation; Ultrasound-guided percutaneous access.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.