Flexible Ureteroscopy versus Retroperitoneal Laparoscopic Ureterolithotomy for the Treatment of Proximal Ureteral Stones >15 mm: A Single Surgeon Experience

Abstract

Objective: To compare safety and effectiveness of flexible ureteroscopy (F-URS) and laparoscopic retroperitoneal ureterolithotomy (L-RU) in treatment of proximal ureteral stones larger than 15 mm. Materials and Methods: This study included 103 patients treated with L-RU (Group I), and 80 patients treated with F-URS (Group II) due to proximal ureteral stones larger than 1.5 cm, in a single center. Patients' characteristics and procedure-related parameters including success rate, operation time, hospital stay, postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, auxiliary procedures, and complications were compared between Groups I and II. Results: It was seen that both methods were effective in the treatment of large ureteral stones; however, R-LU provided a higher stone-free rate (100 vs. 87.5%), a lower complication rate (10.6 vs. 23.7%), and a shorter operation time (65.4 vs. 75.1 min). On the other hand, patients treated with F-URS had less postoperative pain, a shorter hospital stay, a faster return to daily activities. Conclusions: For treatment of large proximal ureteral stones, L-RU provides significantly higher success and lower retreatment rate compared with F-URS. Our results also indicate that R-LU, which has been regarded as an invasive procedure is not as invasive as it is thought to be, and it must be kept in mind that F-URS may cause complications despite its noninvasive nature.