Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS)following retrograde laser endopyelotomy (rLEP) in concomitant ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) andstone disease.
Materials and methods: Patients with concomitant UPJO and renal stone disease who were first treated in ourclinic by rLEP for obstruction and then RIRS for stone disease were enrolled. Study period went from 2012 to2017. RIRS following rLEP was performed earliest at the sixth week. Patients who underwent rLEP were matchedwith those with normal anatomy at a 1:1 ratio based on the propensity scores. Additionally, clinical results werecompared in order to evaluate the effects of rLEP surgery on RIRS. Subsequently, patients who underwent RIRSfollowing rLEP were independently evaluated and factors affecting the success of sequential procedures wereinvestigated.
Results: The sole difference between those that underwent RIRS following rLEP (n=27) and controls with normalanatomy that underwent RIRS was in operative times (p = .011). Evaluation of potential success factors inthe sequential rLEP-RIRS group revealed that primary etiology, obstruction length less than 1cm, smaller stonesize and presence of single stone showed significant effects (p = .047, p = .030, p = .040, p ? .001, respectively).RIRS following rLEP generated an 81.5% stone-free and, after a median follow-up time of 32 months, a 74.1%obstruction-free rate.
Conclusion: RIRS following rLEP in patients with UPJO and renal stones is an effective treatment method. It canbe used safely in patients with single stones < 2cm, short obstruction lengths, and presence of primary etiology.