A 50-year old woman was admitted to emergency room due to an episode of recurrent renal colic. Double-J ureteral stent has been placed several weeks earlier due to mild hydronephrosis of the left kidney. She had a history of urinary tract infections and poorly defined abdominal pain. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan revealed normal left kidney and normal left urinary tract without calcul...

PURPOSE This study aimed to determine the predictors of ipsilateral hydronephrosis after ureteroscopic lithotripsy for ureteral calculi. MATERIALS AND METHODS From January 2010 to December 2014, a total of 204 patients with ureteral calculi who underwent ureteroscopic lithotripsy were reviewed. Patients with lack of clinical data, presence of ureteral rupture, and who underwent simultaneous p...

PURPOSE We compared the efficacy and safety of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) with different intracorporeal lithotriptors for proximal ureteral stones in patients with severe hydronephrosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the records of 192 patients with proximal ureteral calculi and severe hydronephrosis who underwent PCNL between February 2003 and December 2007. Calcu...

INTRODUCTION Stone retropulsion during ureteroscopic lithotripsy may lead to additional procedures needed for residual calculi. Several devices have been introduced in an attempt to reduce retropulsion. We set out to report our initial experience utilizing the new polymeric gel, BackStop. MATERIAL AND METHODS We prospectively collected data on 7 ureteroscopy procedures with distal ureteral ca...

PURPOSE To assess the efficacy of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) for ureteral calculi during acute renal colic. MATERIALS AND METHODS From January 2002 to March 2007, 108 patients were treated by ESWL for obstructing ureteral stones causing acute renal colic. ESWL was performed within 24 hours of the onset of renal colic. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 39.5 years (11-...

I read the article by Dr Chou and associates [1] with interest. They evaluated the secondary signs associated with ureteral obstruction from calcium and uric acid stones. They used unenhanced helical computed tomography (UCT) in order to assess the kidneys in those patients, and observed that UCT reliably showed secondary changes (such as rim sign, hydroureter, perirenal stranding, renal densit...

OBJECTIVE Ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL) is believed to be associated with less risk of symptomatic renal hematoma than extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). We sought to document the rate of and risk factors for this rare complication following URSL for renal calculi. METHODS With Institutional Review Board approval, we reviewed 1087 cases of U...

Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare the results and complications of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) plus retrograde ureteroscopic lithotripsy using laser and pneumatic lithotriptors with SWL monotherapy for renal pelvic calculi between 2 cm and 3 cm. Materials and Methods: A total of 55 patients with 2to 3-cm pelvic calculi were assigned into groups 1 and 2, includin...

INTRODUCTION Urinary lithiasis is the main urologic cause of emergency treatment in adult patient. In the past years, the incidence in children population has increased. However, literature about the use of alpha-1 adrenergic blockers in pediatric population with distal ureterolithiasis is still scarce. The drug acts by decreasing ureter contractions, especially in the distal portion, facilitat...

OBJECTIVES To report our experience of diagnosis and multimodal management of urolithiasis in renal transplantation. PATIENTS AND METHODS From January 1995 to December 2012, 953 patients underwent renal transplantation in the Kidney Transplant Unit of Treviso General Hospital. Ten (10%) of them developed urinary calculi and were referred at our institution. Their mode of presentation, investi...