title: Current practice in Latin America of flexible ureterorenoscopy with laser for treating kidney stones.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The use of flexible ureterorenoscopy for treating kidney stones has increased in recent years, with considerable worldwide variation in the surgical technique and indications.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the current practice, technique variations, use and indications of flexible ureterorenoscopy for treating kidney stones in Latin American.
  
  
  METHODS
  We sent (by email and web link) an anonymous questionnaire with 30 questions on flexible ureterorenoscopy for treating kidney stones to Latin American urologists from January 2015 to July 2015. We collected the responses through the Survey Monkey system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 283 urologists in 15 Latin American countries participated (response rate, 10.8%); 254 answered the questionnaire completely; 52.8% were urologists from Mexico and 11% were from Argentina; 11.8% of the responders stated that they performed >100 cases per year; 15.2% considered ureterorenoscopy as the treatment of choice for stones >2cm, and 19.6% performed ureterorenoscopy in single stages for calculi measuring >2.5cm. Some 78.4% use fluoroscopy, 69.1% use a ureteral sheath in all cases, 55.8% place double-J catheters at the end of surgery, 37.3% considered a stone-free state to be 0 fragments, and 41.2% use plain radiography to assess the stone-free condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most participating urologists consider flexible ureterorenoscopy as the first-choice treatment for stones <2cm; a small percentage of these urologists perform >100 ureterorenoscopies per year. More than half of the urologists routinely used fluoroscopy and ureteral access sheath; the most common method for determining the stone-free state is plain abdominal radiography.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad del Bajío, León Gto, México. Electronic address: bmanzo@urocem.com.
authors.forename: B O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Manzo
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Urología, Central de las Fuerzas Armadas, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bertacchi
authors.affiliation: Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad del Bajío, León Gto, México.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lozada
authors.affiliation: Centro Urológico Dr. Ricardo Rasguido, Tucumán, Argentina.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rasguido
authors.affiliation: Sociedad Panameña de Urología, Panamá, Panamá
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aleman
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario de la Samaritana-Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.affiliation: Centro Urológico del Cibao, Santiago, República Dominicana.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad del Bajío, León Gto, México.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Manzo
authors.affiliation: Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad del Bajío, León Gto, México.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Central del Instituto de Previsión Social H.C.I.P.S, Asunción, Paraguay.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blasco
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007669:Kidney Calculi / Q000601:surgery*; D053685:Laser Therapy; D007843:Latin America; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D020709:Ureteroscopes; D018666:Ureteroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D014572:Urology
keywords: Endourology; Endourología; Nefrolitiasis; Nephrolithiasis; Ureteronefroscopia; Ureterorenoscopy; Ureteroscopia; Ureteroscopy