Percutaneous nephrostolithotomy vs open surgery for renal calculi. A comparative study

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Abstract
To evaluate the impact of the percutaneous removal of renal calculi 41 patients who had undergone open renal surgery were compared to 88 patients who had a 1 or 2 stage percutaneous nephrostolithotomy for symptomatic urolithiasis. The 2 groups were similar with regard to stone size, stone location, treatment success and complication rates. For patients with calculi 2.5 cm or smaller in diameter, the percutaneous procedure resulted in lower postoperative morbidity, more rapid convalescence, less hospital cost and greater patient satisfaction. For patients with calculi > 2.5 cm in diameter, the percutaneous approach was slightly more expensive than open surgery but resulted in a markedly shortened convalescent period. Percutaneous nephrostolithotomy performed in a single stage under assisted local anesthesia was the most efficacious and least expensive of the percutaneous approaches.