Clinical effect of mPCNL with ultrasound guidance in the treatment of 229 cases of upper urinary calculi.

Objective To evaluate the effect of Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (mPCNL) with ultrasound guidance in the treatment of upper urinary calculi. Methods Four hundred and twenty-nine patients with upper urinary calculi admitted from January 2007 to October 2010 were treated by mPCNL (the mPCNL group, n=229) and mPCNL (the PCNL group, n=200). All the patients were followed up for one year. The clinical effect and the calculi clearance rate were compared between the two groups. Results In mPCNL group, 194 of the 229 patients had calculi cleared away with one-stage, with a clearance rate of 84.7%. The mean operation duration, the remain time of nephrostomy, and the mean length of hospital stay were (78.3±33.2) min, (6.2±2.4) d, (6.8±2.4) d, respectively. In PCNL group, 178 of the 200 patients had calculi cleared away with one-stage, with a clearance rate of 89.0%. The mean operation duration, the remain time of nephrostomy, and the mean length of hospital stay were (88.8±35.5) min, (7.8±2.8) d, (9.6±3.5) d, respectively. The clearance rate showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P0.05). The operation duration and the remain time of nephrostomy in the mPCNL group were significantly less than those in the PCNL group (P0.05). Conclusion mPCNL has the advantages of high success rate, less trauma, higher safety and reduced complications, which is worthwhile to be widely used in clinic.