The Application of Suctioning Flexible Ureteroscopy With Intelligent Pressure Control in Treating Upper Urinary Tract Calculi on Patients With a Solitary Kidney

Objective To investigate the usage of intelligently pressure-controlled flexible ureteroscopy (URS) in managing upper urinary tract calculi in patients with a solitary kidney. Methods Forty patients with a solitary kidney and upper urinary tract calculus were included in this study. All the patients underwent suctioning URS with intelligent control of renal pelvic pressure by connecting pressure-measuring suctioning ureteral access sheath to an irrigation and suctioning platform. Treatment outcome and perioperative data were collected. Results The mean operative time was 25.2 ± 14.5 minutes. The mean hospital stay was 4.7 ± 1.4 days. The stone-free rate at 4 weeks after surgery was 87.5%, and it was 92.5% at 12 weeks after surgery. Two patients (5%) experienced complications of fever postoperatively. There were no complications of elevated serum creatinine, severe bleeding, sepsis, stone street, ureteral mucosa stripping, and ureteral stenosis. Conclusion It is safe and efficient to use the intelligently pressure-controlled flexible URS in treating upper urinary tract calculi for patients with a solitary kidney with advantages of high lithotripsy efficacy and low complication rate.