title: Clinical effectiveness of the PolyScope™ endoscope system combined with holmium laser lithotripsy in the treatment of upper urinary calculi with a diameter of less than 2 cm.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of the PolyScope™ endoscope system in the treatment of upper urinary calculi with a diameter of <2 cm. A total of 86 patients hospitalized with upper urinary tract calculi were included. The patients were placed under general or spinal anesthesia and in a lithotomy position. Following the dilation of the ureter, a guide wire was inserted under the direct vision of an F8/9.8 rigid ureteroscope, and an F12/14 flexible ureteral access sheath was positioned along the guide wire. Holmium laser lithotripsy was subsequently performed, using an F8.0 'PolyScope' modular flexible ureteroscope. Plain film of the kidney-ureter-bladder (KUB) was performed 1 day subsequent to the surgery, in order to determine the result of the lithotripsy and the position of the double-J stent which was inserted after after holmium laser lithotripsy. In addition, in certain patients, KUB radiography was performed 2-4 weeks subsequent to the surgery, and extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) was performed if the diameter of the residual stones was >6 mm. Lithotripsy was successful in 77 patients and the duration of the surgery ranged between 25 and 80 min (mean duration, 42 min). Little bleeding was observed. Three patients presented with a slight fever following the surgery; however, no ureteral perforation, high fever or septicemia was observed among the patients following anti-inflammatory treatment. The stone-free rate (SFR) of the single-pass lithotripsy was 89.5% (77/86) and the SFR with ESWL was 96.5% (83/86). The study demonstrated that the F8 modular flexible ureteroscope was safe, convenient and effective for the lithotripsy of upper-tract calculi.
authors.affiliation: Micro-Invasive Surgery Center, Huaqiao Hospital, Shishi, Fujian 362700;
authors.forename: Si-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Yun-Teng
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Zhi-Yuan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yi-Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Cao-Hui
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qi
keywords: Holmium laser; flexible ureteroscope; lithotripsy; modular; urinary calculi