Treatment of staghorn calculi. Strategies and results of the combined use of new technics

From January 1984 to June 1986, 270 patients with staghorn calculi were treated by ESWL, PCNL, or a combination of both. The indications were determined according to stone burden, distribution of stone load, architecture of the renal collecting system, radiopacity, and chemical composition of the calculi. Another group (83 patients) treated from January 1982 to October 1983 exclusively with open surgery was also examined. In a retrospective study, the treatment and follow-up data of the two groups were evaluated and compared. At discharge, 78 (29%) of the patients treated by the new techniques were free of stones, while 192 (71%) still had residual fragments in the kidney or in the ureter. Among the group treated by open surgery, 54 (65.1%) were free of stones at discharge, 17 (20.4%) still had residual fragments, and 12 (14.5%) had to undergo nephrectomy. The follow-up data (18 months n = 186) for the ESWL-PCNL-group revealed a stone-free rate of 54.8%. Residual fragments were observed in 40.3% and recurrent stone formation occurred in only 4.9%. Follow-up examination of group treated by open surgery (42 months, n = 61) revealed a stone-free rate of 72.1%, while residual stones persisted in 8.2% and recurrent stone formation occurred in 19.7%. The incidence of urinary tract infection was only 11.3% after ESWL/PCNL, as against 30% after open surgery. It is remarkable that 80% of the patients with residual fragments after ESWL-PCNL did not have any such symptoms as infection or colic.