Endoscopic stone management in children

What changed in the management of pediatric stones after the introduction of minimally invasive procedures? A single-center experience over 24 years

OBJECTIVE

To assess the impact of new technology on the management of pediatric urolithiasis by analyzing our local practice over the past 24 years, and determining the role of open surgery at the present time.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 768 children (783 procedures) who underwent surgical treatment for urolithiasis between June 1987 and October 2010. Data were analyzed with respect to patient characteristics and changing patterns of treatment with time. We compared the type of procedures performed between four time periods: the first was before ESWL, the second was after the introduction of ESWL, the third was after introduction of PCNL, and the fourth was our experienced period with a pediatric urologist.

RESULTS

The mean age of the children was 7.50 years (range 9 months-17 years). There were 495 renal, 228 ureteral, 21 bladder, 11 urethral stones, and the remaining 13 had stones in multiple locations. Of the 783 procedures performed, 75.9% were open surgery during the first period (1987-1992), 29.7% during the second period (1993-1998), 6.1% during the third period (1999-2004) and 0.2% during the fourth period (2005-2010). The number of children who underwent urinary stone treatment increased significantly (p = 0.001) and the age of the children at the time of surgery decreased (9.09-6.08 years) (p = 0.001) with time.

CONCLUSION

The majority of stones in children can be managed using endourological procedures. Additionally, technological advances and improved surgical skills have greatly reduced the number of children requiring open surgery, which is mainly used for those with complex urinary calculi presenting with anatomic abnormalities. Minimally invasive techniques allow us to treat stones at an earlier age.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy for the treatment of radiolucent renal stones in children: is it different opaque stone treatment?

We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL), stone-free rates, and related complications in children with radiolucent renal stones. A total of 56 patients aged <16 years from four institutions were enrolled in our study. Asymptomatic, clinically insignificant residual fragments measuring <4 mm or a complete stone-free status was accepted as the criterion for clinical success. Complications were evaluated according to the modified Clavien classification. The mean age of the patients was 7.8 ± 4.5 years. The mean stone size was calculated as 24.07 ± 10.4 mm. The median operative and fluoroscopy times were 53.2 min (15-170 min) and 172.4 s (5-520 s), respectively. The success rate after PNL monotherapy was 87.4%; the total success rate with shock wave lithotripsy used as an auxillary treatment method was detected as 94.6%. The total complication rate was 19.6% (11 patients). No adjacent organ injury was observed. All of the complications that occurred were minor according to the Clavien classification (Clavien Grades I-II). PNL can be applied to radiolucent pediatric renal stones in children with similar success, and complication rates as noted for radiopaque stones.