title: Micropercutaneous nephrolithotripsy: initial experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For small renal calculi (< 2 cm) the currently available treatment options include extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL), retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) and standard/mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL). A new method, microperc, has therefore been developed, in which a smaller tract size and smaller instruments were used.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To present our clinical experiences with micropercutaneous nephrolithotripsy (microperc) in the treatment of small renal calculi.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively evaluated patients with small renal calculi who underwent microperc between February and June 2013. A 4.8 Fr 'all-seeing needle' was used to achieve percutaneous renal access with the C-arm fluoroscopy guidance in the prone position. Holmium: YAG laser 272 µm fiber was used for stone fragmentation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 20 patients underwent the microperc procedure. The mean age of the patients was 46.5 ±13.8 years. The mean stone size was 13 ±3 mm. The stone-free rate (SFR) was 90% (18/20). Two patients had clinically significant residual fragments (≥ 4 mm). The mean operation and fluoroscopy times were 107.5 ±37 min and 45 ±40 s respectively. The mean postoperative drop in hemoglobin was 1.2 ±0.9 g/dl, and 1 patient required blood transfusion. The patients were discharged after an average hospitalization of 1.4 ±0.8 days. Two complications, urinary tract infection and blood loss requiring blood transfusion, were observed in 2 patients postoperatively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest that microperc should be considered for the treatment of small renal stones.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ölçücüoğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kasap
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ölçücüoğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Emin
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Şirin
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Eymen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gazel
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taştemur
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Öner
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Odabas
keywords: micropercutaneous; renal; stone