Retrograde intrarenal surgery and percutaneous nephrolithotomy for the treatment of renal stones greater than 2 cm

Background: Stone size is a key factor in the determination of the success of treatment modalities. Recently, there has been a great advancement in technology for minimally invasive management of urinary stones such as percutaneous nephrolithotomy, ureteroscopy, shockwave lithotripsy, and retrograde internal Surgery

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Aim of the Study: to assess and compare the efficacy of retrograde intrarenal surgery [RIRS] in the treatment of kidney stones greater than 2 cm versus percutaneous nephrolithotomy [PCNL]

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Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out for a total of 118 patients, of which 46 patients underwent RIRS while 72 patients underwent PCNL between May 2013 and May 2017

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Results: The mean duration of operation was 96.39 +/- 41.11 min in the RIRS group and 69.51 +/- 19.3 min in the PCNL group [p<0.001]. Hospital stay was significantly shorter in the RIRS group [1.32 +/- 0.6 vs. 4.19 +/- 1.9 days] in the RIRS and PCNL groups respectively [p<0.001]. Stone-free rates after one session were 67.4% and 90.3% of the RIRS and PCNL groups, respectively. Blood transfusions were required in two patients in the PCNL group. Complication rates were generally higher in the PCNL group

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Conclusion: The present study concluded that RIRS can be a successful substitute to PCNL in the treatment of kidney stones with a diameter of 2-4 cm particularly in patients with comorbidities