ABSTRACT

Objective:

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) is a minimally invasive procedure that is safely performed for kidney stone surgery all over the world. In our clinic, PNL surgery was first performed in March 1998. In parallel with our increasing experience, PNL has been performed in pediatric cases. In our study, PNL operations performed in pediatric patients under the age of 10 years and in those over the age of 10 years were retrospectively investigated.

Methods:

Patients were between 0 and 16 years of age. They were divided into 2 groups according to age: 0–10 and 11–16 years. The PNL procedure was performed under general anesthesia with C-arm fluoroscopy in the prone position.

Results:

Between March 1998 and December 2014, a total of 208 pediatric urinary stone patients were operated on. The PNL procedure was performed in 210 renal units, 1 of which was performed bilaterally. In the ≤10-year-old patient group, 98 procedures (87.5%) were stone free, while clinically insignificant residual fragments (CIRFU) were found in 13 procedures (12.5%). In the >10-year-old patient group, 88 procedures were stone free (89.79%), while clinically insignificant residual fragments were found in 9 procedures (10.2%). In the ≤10-year-old patient group, tubeless PNL was performed in 1 patient. In both groups combined, bleeding requiring transfusion occurred in just 1 case. A tract leak requiring a double J stent was detected in 1 patient in the ≤10-year-old patient group and in 2 patients in the other group. There was no other organ injury.

Conclusion:

PNL is a minimally invasive method and has become advantageous over open surgery because it offers higher security, particularly in experienced clinics, and procedures on pediatric patients can therefore be successfully performed.