Preoperative and Postoperative Cortical Function of the Kidney with Staghorn Calculi Assessed by 99m Technetium-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid Renal Scintigraphy

99mTechnetium dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scintigraphy, consisting of the cortical image and dimercaptosuccinic acid renal uptake rate, was used to assess preoperative and postoperative renal function in 55 patients with staghorn calculi. In 14 of 20 patients who had undergone extended pyelolithotomy and in 4 of 22 who had undergone nephrolithotomy there was an increase or no change in the postoperative dimercaptosuccinic acid renal uptake in the surgically treated kidney. However, there was no increase in the postoperative dimercaptosuccinic acid renal uptake in the patients who had undergone pyelolithotomy combined with nephrotomy or partial nephrectomy. Eight per cent of the preoperative dimercaptosuccinic acid renal uptake rate in the diseased kidney seems to be the absolute level for predicting the postoperative recovery of renal function. Dimercaptosuccinic acid renal images provide evidence of morphological changes in the cortex of the kidney with stones and the dimercaptosuccinic acid uptake rate is a useful adjunct for quantitative assessments of preoperative and postoperative residual cortical function.