Ultrasound-guided minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy in the treatment of pediatric patients <6 years: A single-center 10 years' experience.

Owing to the fragile kidney and relative small collecting system of pediatric patients, urologists were always reluctant to treat pediatric urolithiasis with PCNL. Here we conduct a study to assess the effectiveness and safety of pediatric patients with renal calculi <6 years.A total of 88 pediatric patients (99 kidney units) <6 years underwent the ultrasound (US)-guided minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy in our institute from March 2006 to April 2016. The mean age was 30.9 months (range, 7-72 months). The mean stone size was 19.5 mm (range, 10-50 mm). The group included single stone in 35 kidney units, upper ureteral stone in 12 kidney units, multiple stone in 43 kidney units, and staghorn stone in 9 kidney units. The procedure of puncture and dilation were guided by US solely.The mean operation time was 52.3 minutes (range, 15-140 minutes). The mean postoperative length of stay was 6.0 days (3-16 days). Besides, the initial stone free rate (SFR) was 90.9% (90/99) and the final SFR was 96.0% (95/99). The mean hemoglobin drop was 10.9 g/L (range, 1-25 g/L). Postoperative complications occurred in 12 patients including fever in 11 cases and active pleural effusion in 1 case.The US-guided MPCNL is an effective and safety procedure to treat pediatric patients with stone <6 years.