Supine percutaneous nephrolithotomy in horseshoe kidney.

Introduction: Historically, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in horseshoe kidney (HSK) patients has been performed in the prone position. Nevertheless, thanks to the spread of the supine PCNL technique for patients with urinary stones and normal renal anatomy, some retrospective studies have already reported on supine PCNL and HSK, showing the effectiveness and safety of the procedure. Herein we report our experience with supine PCNL in a subset of patients with urolithiasis.

Material and methods: Prospective data were collected for all HSK patients who underwent supine PCNL at our institution from June 2016 to June 2023. Stone volume was reported as the volume of a single stone or the sum of the volumes of multiple stones on computed tomography (CT) images. Patients were reported to be stone-free if there were no stones on postoperative non-contrast CT (NCCT) exam. Peri-/postoperative complications were reported according to the Clavien-Dindo classification system. The primary endpoint of the study was stone-free rate (SFR) and the secondary endpoints were Clavien-Dindo complications Grade I or higher.

Results: A total of 35 patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study. Forty-eight procedures were analyzed. SFR was 72.9% at 1-month follow-up. In 11 out of 48 procedures (22.9%) Clavien-Dindo Grade I-II complications were recorded. In one case Clavien-Dindo Grade IIIa complication was observed.

Conclusions: In this prospective study of 35 HSK patients who underwent 48 procedures, supine PCNL was safe and effective, with minimal morbidity.