ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the epidemiological; clinical and therapeutic aspects of upper urinary tract lithiasis at our department. Material and Methods: This is a retrospective study based on the patients' records and covering the period from January 1; 1992 to December 31; 2002. Results: During a period of 10 years; 110 cases of upper urinary tract calculi out of a total number of 7128 hospitalized patients were seen at our institution; thus constituting 1;54of all hospital admissions. The patients' mean age was 35;49 years (range: one to 75 years); the male to female ratio was 7:1. The main presenting symptom was renal colic followed by lower back pain. Treatment was mainly by open surgery (108 of 109 cases were managed by conventional surgery). Follow-up was uneventful in all cases with a mean hospital stay of 13;5 days. Conclusion: Upper urinary tract lithiasis is rarely encountered in our region; but it seems to be in constant progression. We are still obliged to resort to open surgery in most cases; although this method is not the treatment of choice in developed countries any more