Ureteral stone extraction under direct ureteroscopic vision: An alternative for routine ureteral stone management

Abstract

Introduction: During recent years, considerable efforts have been expended into the management of urinary stone. Here, we present our experience on ureteric stone removal without any lithotripsy interventions. Combination direct vision with basket en-trapping provided a new dimension to our ureteroscope experience. Materials and methods: Here, we reviewed the medical data of our adult patients with ≤10 mm stone size, who received primary stone extraction under direct ureteroscopic vision without lithotripsy during a 2-year period. During the six months of follow-up every patient was seen frequently. Results: The study included69patientsfrombothsexes with agesrangingfrom 18 to 68 years. We obtained 92.7% success rate. The averagelengthofoperativeprocedureswas 25.3 ± 10.4 min with a 14.4 % complication rate. Conclusion: Ureteral stone extraction requires considerable caution and may be associated with some complications. Stone extraction under direct ureteroscope guidance facilitates this procedure, especially in the distal stones. It seems combination direct live imaging with basket en-trapping may be helpful in these precise cases.