Evidence for Ureterorenoscopy and Laser Fragmentation (URSL) for Large Renal Stones in the Modern Era

Large renal stones (>2 cm) are managed with percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), which has a good stone-free rate (SFR) but a relatively high incidence of complications graded Clavien ≥ 3. We wanted to review the literature for the use of ureterorenoscopy and laser fragmentation (URSL) for the management of these stones. A systematic review was done from 1990 to April 2014 for all English language articles reporting on a minimum of 10 patients for stones >2 cm in size (done by 2 reviewers independently) in accordance with the PRISMA and Cochrane review guidelines. A total of 379 articles were identified and after screening for the titles (54) and abstracts (29), 12 papers (651 patients) were included. The male to female ratio was 356:232 with a mean age of 54 years (range 16-86 years). With a mean stone size of 2.7 cm (2-3.15 cm) and the mean operating time of 96 min (28-238 min); the SFR was 91 % (1.45 procedures/patient). The overall number of complications was 58 (8.6 %) of which 26 (4.5 %) were complications classed Clavien ≥ 3 (haematuria with subcapsular haematoma/clot retention-7; ureteral perforation-7; steinstrasse-5; sepsis/pyelonephritis-5; prostatitis-1; cerebrovascular accident-1). Ureterorenoscopy for large renal stones in the modern era has good SFR with a small risk of major complications.