flexible ureterorenoscopy versus extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy for the treatment of renal pelvis stones of 10–20 mm in obese patients

introduction: to compare outcomes of retrograde intrarenal surgery (rirs) with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (eswl) as treatment of choice. methods: a total number of 46 patients with renal pelvic stones 10-20 mm and body mass index (bmi) >30 randomized in two groups underwent rirs and eswl from 2011 to 2014 and followed for 3 months. results: the patients mean ± sd age was 36.1 ± 13.1 years in eswl and 33.2 ± 11.4 years in rirs groups ( p = .1) with comparable bmi in both groups (36.2 vs 38.1). in eswl and rirs groups, the operation time was 72.2 ± 21 vs 66.5 ± 19 minutes ( p = .061), respectively. stone free rate (sfr) at 3 months was 68% in eswl group vs 90.4% in rirs group ( p = .019). the complication rate was 20% in eswl group vs 14.2% in rirs group ( p = .211) but all of them were minor and managed conservatively. conclusion: according to our study, rirs procedure in comparison with eswl is a safe and successful option of treatment for renal pelvis stone of 10-20 mm in obese people.