Emergency ureteroscopic lithotripsy in acute renal colic caused by ureteral calculi: a retrospective study

This work was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of emergency ureteroscopic lithotripsy in patients with ureteral stones. From May 2003 to December 2010, 244 patients (184 men and 60 women, mean age 45.6 ± 12.7 years (range 22–73 years) were treated with emergency ureteroscopic lithotripsy for ureteral calculi. All patients were divided into three groups according to the stone location in the ureter. Intracorporeal lithotripsy when necessary was performed with the Swiss lithoclast. The overall stone-free status was defined as the complete absence of stone fragments at 4 weeks, postoperatively. A double J stent was inserted in selected patients if there was significant ureteral wall trauma, edema at the stone impaction site, suspected or proved ureteral perforation, and if the stone migrated to the kidney. The overall success rate was 90.6%. The success rates were different according to the stone site. The success rate of groups A, B and C was 69.4, 94.8 and 96.6%, respectively. The overall rate of ureteral stent insertion at the end of the procedure was 177/244 (72.5%). The rate of stent insertion was 41/49 (83.7%), 32/46 (69.6%) and 104/149 (69.8%) in groups A, B and C, respectively. The overall complication, failure, and stricture rate was 32/244 (13.1%), 23/244 (9.4%) and 0.8%, respectively. With the recent advances in ureteroscopic technology, intracorporeal probes and stone extraction devices, emergency ureteroscopy is found to be a safe and effective procedure with immediate relief from ureteral colic and ureteral stone fragmentation.