title: [Minimally invasive endourological management of urinay tract calculi in children].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The urinary tract calculi in children is a very unfrequent problem in the pediatric age group. Endourology plays a major role in pediatric surgery. We reported our experience in endoscopic management of pediatric calculi.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen children (age range: 2 year-19 years) underwent endourology procedures for extraction of urinary tract lithiasis in the period from 1992 until 2006. We reviewed retrospectively the following features: calculi size, location, procedures, surgical complications, recurrent, results and time of follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-one endourolgy procedures were performed: nine ureteroscopies (43%), 10 bladder extractions (47.5%) and two percutaneous nephrolithotomies (9.5%). The mean size bladder stone was 2.75 cm. and 6.3 mm. in the ureteral stones. A patient had staghorn calculi. The stone was located in distal ureter in 7 occasions (33.3%), in upper ureter in 2 (9.5%), in kidney in 2 (9.5%), in bladder in 9 (43%) and in urethra in one (4.7%). Ten cases (55.5%) had urology associated anomalies: 6 patients neurogenic bladder, two bladder exstrophy, one ureterocele and one diagnosed of primary megaureter. Four patients (22%) underwent open surgery for the extraction of the lithiasis: a patient with a bladder stone and three cases with ureteral calculi. Three patients (16, 5%) had recurrence of stones and were successfully treated with endoscopy procedure again. By the moment all the patients are stone-free. The time of follow-up has been 2 years and 6 months (range: 1-13 years).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The endourology is a safe and effective therapeutic option for the management of urinary tract calculi in children. With improvements in instrumentation and technology, it will be possible to expand the patients' selection criterion.
authors.affiliation: Sección de Urología, IServicio de Cirugía Pediátrica, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid. dcabezali@yahoo.es
authors.forename: D Cabezalí
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Barbancho
authors.forename: A Gómez
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fraile
authors.forename: R Tejedor
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: M López
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: J Romero
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Otero
authors.forename: F López
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Vázquez
authors.forename: A Aransay
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Bramtot
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018666:Ureteroscopy; D052878:Urolithiasis / Q000628:therapy*