Percutaneous pneumatic and laser lithotripsy as a possible therapeutic strategy for bilateral large calculi in a horseshoe kidney.

This report concerns a case of bilateral large calculi in a horseshoe kidney. Three sessions of percutaneous nephrolithotripsy for the calculi successfully disintegrated and removed the fragments without any complications. For complete stone removal we used pneumatic and laser lithotriptors which were passed, respectively, through a rigid nephroscope and a flexible pyeloscope. It is emphasized that the selection of the most suitable lithotriptor by taking their various features into account is important in endoscopic surgery for calculi which are likely to recur such as stones accompanied by infection or for anatomically anomalous kidneys such as horseshoe kidneys.