Abstract

Objective: We compared the frequency of usage and success of minimally invasive approaches in the management of pediatric urolithiasis in our clinic.

Material and methods: Data from pediatric patients ≤16 years of age who had percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL), ureterorenoscopy (URS), and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) between January 2001 and December 2011 were retrospectively investigated.

Results: In this study, 415 pediatric patients, who were treated for 291 renal stones and 124 ureteral stones, were evaluated. One hundred forty-eight patients (82 male, 66 female) were treated with PNL, 99 (58 male, 41 female) were treated with URS, and 168 (91 male, 77 female) were treated with ESWL. The mean patient ages were 7.3 (1-16), 9.1 (1-16), and 8.8 (1-16) in the PNL, URS, and ESWL groups, respectively. The stone-free rates after treatment with PNL, URS, and ESWL were 77%, 83.8% and 88.7%, respectively.

Conclusion: It is important that selected therapies are properly planned, and the use of minimally invasive approaches is important in pediatric patients due to potentially high recurrence rates. Currently, ESWL, PNL and URS are performed with high success rates for the treatment of stones, and open surgery is rarely used due to the success obtained with minimally invasive approaches.