Retrograde intrarenal surgery by flexible ureteroscope in patients with spinal deformities.

OBJECTIVE: To present our experience with retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) for managing renal stones in patients with spinal deformities.

DESIGN: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of seven patients with congenital scoliosis (n = 5), spina bifida (n = 2) who had undergone RIRS for renal stones. Stone-free status was determined by CT 30 days after the procedure and was defined as the absence of stones in the kidney or residual fragments ≤1 mm.

RESULTS: Mean patient age was 27 years (18-45 years), and mean stone size was 176 mm (143-340 mm). The average operative time was 38 minutes (25-53 minutes), and postoperative hospital stay was 1 day (1-2 days). A stone-free status was obtained in six (85.7 %) patients, and one patient was considered to have treatment failure. This patient was managed by a repeat RIRS. A Double-J stent was placed at the end of the procedure in all (100 %) patients. No severe complications, either from anesthesia or the surgical procedure, were observed, and no blood transfusion was reported.

CONCLUSIONS: The good clearance rate with a low incidence of complications shown by the present study has demonstrated that RIRS is a safe and effective procedure for renal stones in patients with spinal deformities.