Comparison of super-mini versus mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy for the treatment of upper urinary tract stones in children: a single centre experience.

PURPOSE: The efficacy and safety of super-mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (SMP, 14 Fr) was compared with mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL, 16 Fr) for the treatment of upper urinary tract stones in children (< 14 years old). METHODS: Clinical data of 133 paediatric patients with upper urinary tract stones treated with SMP or MPCNL between May 2012 and May 2019 were retrospectively analysed. The patients were divided into the SMP and MPCNL groups. Age, height, weight, stone size, operation time, stone-free rate (SFR), postoperative complications, tubeless rate, and length of postoperative hospital stay (LOS) were compared. RESULTS: There were 66 patients (49.6%) in the SMP and 67 patients (50.4%) in the MPCNL group. No significant difference in the median age, weight, height and operation time, and SFR existed between the patients of the two groups. Larger stones were removed via SMP compared to those removed with MPCNL (2.0 vs. 1.5 cm, P = 0.001). LOS for SMP patients was significantly lower than that for the MPCNL patients (2 and 6 days, respectively, P < 0.0001). The tubeless rate for SMP was significantly higher than that for MPCNL (100% vs. 0%, P < 0.0001). Total complication rate of MPCNL was significantly higher than that of SMP (25.3% vs. 7.5%, P = 0.006). No patient required blood transfusion, and septicaemia, and other serious complications did not occur. CONCLUSION: SMP is more effective than MPCNL for treating middle-sized upper urinary tract stones in children, and is associated with a shorter LOS and a higher tubeless rate.

Clinical application of super-mini PCNL (SMP) in the treatment of upper urinary tract stones under ultrasound guidance.

PURPOSE: To present the safety and efficacy of totally ultrasonography-guided Super-mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (SMP) in the treatment of upper urinary tract stones both in children and adults. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We carried out SMP in 104 patients (including 48 children and 56 adults) with upper urinary tract stones between June 2015 and February 2017. All steps of renal access were performed by ultrasonography. The lithotripsy was performed using either Holmium laser or pneumatic lithotripter. Perioperative and postoperative parameters along with operative data were recorded in detail. RESULTS: The mean age of children and adult patients were 4.4 ± 3.6 and 44.3 ± 15.7 years old, respectively. The stone burden was comparable for both groups (1.72 ± 0.66 vs 1.74 ± 0.56 cm, p = 0.852). Mean operation time was not significant different between two groups (p = 0.052), while the mean haemoglobin drop in children was much lower in adult patients (6.3 ± 6.9 vs 10.9 ± 8.69, p = 0.004). Both groups had similar SFRs in postoperative 1 day and at 1-month follow-up (p = 1.000, p = 0.912). Mean hospital stay of children and adult patients was 2.3 ± 0.8 and 2.2 ± 0.76 days (p = 0.484). The total complication rate was significantly lower in two groups (p = 1.000); none of the patients required blood transfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasonography-guided SMP was a safe and effective treatment option for moderate-sized upper urinary tract stones, and has the advantage of preventing radiation hazard, especially for pediatric stone patients.

Ultrasound-guided mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy in the treatment of upper urinary tract stones in children: A single-center evaluation.

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ultrasound-guided mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy (mini-perc) for the treatment of upper urinary tract stones in children. We reviewed the records of 70 children with upper urinary tract stones who were treated with a mini-perc technique between July 2015 and April 2020. All puncture site selections and tract dilations were determined by Doppler ultrasonography. Patient age, height, weight, stone size, operation time, stone-free rate (SFR), postoperative complications, tubeless rate, and length of hospital stay (LOS) were recorded. Stone components were analysed using infrared spectroscopy. A total of 47 boys and 23 girls were included. Median weight and height of the patients were 18.5 kg and 110 cm, respectively. Median stone diameter was 2.0 cm. Median time to establish access was 4.0 min and median operation time was 25 min. Patients had median preoperative and postoperative haemoglobin levels of 121 and 113.5 g/L, median haemoglobin levels dropped to 8.0 g/L the day after surgery. No patient needed a blood transfusion. Eight children (11.4%) developed significant complications, including four cases with Clavien Grade I, one with Clavien Grade II, and three with Clavien Grade Ⅲ complications. One-day and 1-month follow-ups revealed a complete SFR of 95.7% (67/70) and 97.1% (68/70), respectively. Fifty-six patients (80.0%) did not require catheters of any type (total tubeless). Median LOS was 2.0 days. Ultrasound-guided mini-perc is safe and effective. The mini-perc technique is a feasible alternative for paediatric stone disease that does not result in major complications.

Super-mini PCNL (SMP): Material, indications, technique, advantages and results.

OBJECTIVE: To introduce an emerging technique termed 'super-mini- percutaneous nephrolithotomy' (SMP) and describe its application in practice. METHODS: We described the technique of SMP in the treatment of renal stones with emphasis on the material, indications, technique procedure, advantages, and results. RESULTS: SMP refers to a 7 Ch. nephroscope placed through a 10-14 Ch. metal access sheath with functions of both irrigation and suction-evacuation, to achieve stone fragmentation via laser or pneumatic lithotripsy. We reported our experience of this technique in 342 cases including 231 adults and 111 children. The mean stone size was 2.3 ± 0.9 cm resulted in 54.3 ± 27.7 min of mean operative time in adults, as well as 39.4 ± 26.2 min for stone size of 1.4 ± 0.5cm in children. In parallel, the initial stone-free rate (SFR) was 89.2% and 90.0% followed with a 94.4% and 95.5% of final SFR at 3 months in adults and children, respectively. No transfusions were needed in all patients. Tubeless was achieved in 93.9% and 100%of patients in adults and children respectively. The mean hospital stay was 2.3 ± 0.8 d and 2.7 ± 1.5 d respectively. CONCLUSIONS: SMP are suited for stones less than 2.5 cm in size. It is also suited for special situations such as pediatric moderate-sized stones, previously failed SWL or RIRS approaches. It has advantages of a shorter operative time and hospital stays, with a largely reduction use of drainage catheter after procedure. The indications of the SMP may also compete with those of SWL and RIRS.

Super-Mini Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in the Treatment of Pediatric Nephrolithiasis: Evaluation of the Initial Results.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of super-mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (SMP) in the treatment of pediatric kidney stones. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 111 children with renal stones treated with SMP technique in four different centers between September 2014 and September 2015. The indications for SMP treatment in all these kids were either previously failed shock wave lithotripsy or retrograde intrarenal surgery approaches, according to their parents' preferences. Nephrostomy tracts used in the SMP system ranged from 10F to 14F in size. Lithotripsy was performed using either a Holmium laser or pneumatic lithotripter. Perioperative and postoperative parameters along with operative data were recorded in detail and stone components were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: This study included 71 boys and 40 girls with a mean age of 3.90 ± 3.53 years (range 0.5-15). The mean stone burden was 1.4 ± 0.6 cm (range 0.8-4.8). Mean operative time was 39.4 ± 26.2 minutes (range 7-105). The mean hemoglobin drop was 10.2 ± 7.1 g/L (range 0-25) and no transfusion was needed. Significant complications were observed in 17 (15.3%) children with 10 and 7 cases in Clavien grade I and grade II, respectively. Complete stone clearance on postoperative day 1 and on 3-month follow-up was 84.7% (94/111) and 90.1% (100/111), respectively. Ninety-five (85.6%) children did not require any type of catheters (total tubeless). The mean hospital stay was 2.7 ± 1.5 days (range 1-7). CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary data demonstrated that SMP was safe and effective. SMP could be a feasible treatment option for pediatric stone disease. Further randomized controlled trials are still needed to prove the efficacy of using the SMP system in children, particularly in those with larger stones.