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Purpose: Our goal was to present our experience with ultrasound guided supine or prone percutaneous nephrolithotomy in three pregnant women under spinal anesthesia., Materials and Methods: Three pregnant women in the 16th, 20th and 28th weeks of pregnancy presented with symptomatic large renal stone in the first patient and multiple renal stones in the second and third patients which were unresponsive to conventional medical therapy. They requested a definitive stone treatment. The operations were done in November 2012, June 2014 and February 2015. Data was gathered prospectively. All steps of gaining access to the pyelocalyceal system including needle insertion, tract dilation, and Amplatz sheath placement were performed under ultrasonography guidance. Tract was dilated with a single shot technique. The first two procedures were performed in supine position and the third procedure was performed in lateral flank position., Results: Two patients were stone-free postoperatively and one patient had only an asymptomatic 4 mm residual stone. They were discharged on the 2nd postoperative day and had an uneventful postoperative course. No fever, bleeding or renal colic was noticed during postoperative hospitalization. All patients delivered their fetuses at term without any abnormality reported by the examining pediatric specialist after their birth., Conclusion: Ultrasonography can be used as an imaging modality guiding all steps of obtaining percutaneous access in pregnant women. Supine or flank ultrasound guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy can be offered to pregnant women in whom conservative measures fail to the patients' wellbeing.

Introduction and Objectives: We sought to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of the superpulse thulium fiber laser (sTFL to the holmium: yttrium–aluminum–garnet [Ho:YAG] laser for ureteroscopic "dusting" of implanted renal stones in an in vivo porcine model. Methods: Twenty-four porcine kidneys (12 juvenile female Yorkshire pigs) were randomized to Ho:YAG or sTFL treatment groups. Canine calcium oxalate stones were scanned with computed tomography to calculate stone volume and stone density; the stones were randomized and implanted into each renal pelvis via an open pyelotomy. In all trials, a 14F, 35 cm ureteral access sheath was placed. With a 9.9F dual lumen flexible ureteroscope, laser lithotripsy was performed using dusting settings: Ho:YAG 200 μm laser fiber at 16 W (0.4 J, 40 Hz) or sTFL 200 μm laser fiber at 16 W (0.2 J, 80 Hz). Lithotripsy continued until no fragments over 1 mm were observed. No stone basketing was performed. Throughout the procedures, intrarenal and renal pelvis temperatures were measured using two percutaneously positioned K-type thermocouples, one in the upper pole calyx and one in the renal pelvis. After the lithotripsy, the ureteropelvic junction was occluded, the kidneys were bivalved, and all residual fragments were collected, dried, weighed, and then measured with an optical laser particle sizer. Results: Implanted stones were similar in volume and density in both groups. Intraoperative collecting system temperatures were similar for both groups (all <44°C). Compared to Ho:YAG, sTFL ablated stones faster (9 vs 27 minutes, p < 0.001) with less energy expenditure (8 vs 26 kJ, p < 0.001), and a greater stone clearance rate (73% vs 45%, p = 0.001). After sTFL lithotripsy, 77% of the remaining fragments were ≤1 mm vs 17% of fragments ≤1 mm after Ho:YAG treatment (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In an in vivo porcine kidney, using dusting settings, sTFL lithotripsy resulted in shorter ablation times, higher stone clearance rates, and markedly smaller stone fragments than Ho:YAG lithotripsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To share the experience of the authors with the urological family in the world by the review of literature on supine percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Materials and Methods: We have searched all the available databases, including PubMed or MEDLINE and Embase Biomedical Database to find any English articles related to supine PCNL from 1998 to 2010. Of 17 studies, 11 were case series and 6 were comparative. Results: A total of 1914 patients were studied. Only the results of mean operation time were significant. Supine PCNL offers several advantages, including less operation time, less patient handling, needing only one drape, easier access to the urethra and upper calyces, facilitation of drainage of stone fragment with the Amplatz sheath, less anterior kidney displacement due to lying the kidney in its normal anatomical position, less risk of the colon injury, more tolerable for the patients with pulmonary or cardiovascular disease, and better for morbid obese patients. The overlap density of the vertebrae in the semi-supine position can be avoided. Furthermore, the fluoroscopy tube is far from the puncture site; thus, the space is open for the surgeon to work and the surgeon can perform the procedure in a more comfortable seated position. Conclusion: The study showed that PCNL in the supine position is feasible. Although supine PCNL has numerous advantages, it is not routine in many surgical centers throughout the world. The practice of supine PCNL will be popular when the academic centers be encouraged to start it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]