Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in Spinal Cord Neuropathy Patients: A Single Institution Experience

Background and Purpose: Patients with spinal neuropathy are at an increased risk for urolithiasis. Data on percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in this population are limited. Our objective is to review our experience in managing stones with PCNL in patients with spinal neuropathy. Patients and Methods: Twenty-one patients with spinal neuropathy underwent PCNL at our institution between January 2005 and August 2011. Their medical records were reviewed retrospectively to collect data relating to stone characteristics, treatment outcomes, and complications. Results: Forty-two PCNL were performed on 26 kidneys. Five patients had bilateral stones. They were 14 (66.7%) patients with spinal cord injury, 5 (23.8%) with spina bifida, and 2 (9.5%) with other neurologic abnormalities. There were 90.5% of patients with preoperative bacteriuria and 47.6% with severe scoliosis, making positioning for PCNL challenging. Complete staghorn stones occurred in 46.2% of kidneys, and 50% of stones were struvite. Only 53.8% of kidneys were stone free after the first PCNL. The success rate increased to 80.8% after the second and 88.5% after the third PCNL. Urosepsis developed in three (14.3%) patients, necessitating admission to the intensive care unit postoperatively. Six (28.6%) patients needed blood transfusion. One patient had a pneumothorax and another had a perforation of the collecting system. Conclusions: Based on our experience, PCNL in patients with spinal neuropathy had a stone clearance rate comparable with that of the general population. These patients, however, needed multiple PCNLs to be stone free and had a higher incidence of complications (especially infectious).