Background: The purpose of this report is to assess the safety and efficacy of single lower pole access for multiple and branched renal calculi. A prospective non randomized clinical study included 26 patients with complex renal stones (9 patients had branched renal stones and the other 17 had multiple renal stones) in the period from May 2003 to May 2004. Mean patient age was 42 years +/- 13.2 (range 18 to 67 years). All patients underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) via a single lower calyceal puncture. Small stones were intactly extracted by a range of stone graspers while large stones (smallest diameter more than 1 cm) were disintegrated using either the pneumatic EMS Swiss lithoclast or Holmium YAG laser. Flexible nephroscope was used for stones inaccessible by the rigid instruments.
Findings: Overall stone-free rate was 74.8%. Patients with residual stones were managed by one session of shock wave lithotripsy (SWL). Mean operative time was (80 minutes +/- 27.4) for branched stones and (49.1 minutes +/- 15.9) for multiple stones. No significant blood loss reported. Perforation of pelvicalyceal system occurred in 2 patients (11.5%) with no serious sequelae. Only 1 patient developed secondary hemorrhage which necessitated blood transfusion and selective angio-embolization.
Conclusion: In our hands, the efficacy and safety of single lower calyceal puncture PCNL in management of complex renal stones are comparable to those of the general procedure stated in literature.