The Effect of Renal Access Sheath Size Used During Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy on Postoperative Renal Functions

PCNL has been applied for the last 30 years as the primary and most effective treatment method in patients with kidney stones of 2 cm or larger. The primary purpose of the operation is to ensure stone-freeness. Another aim is to keep the damage to kidney functions to a minimum, thanks to the endoscopic intervention. In this respect, PCNL is superior to open surgery and reduces morbidity.

Renal access, dilatation, and fragmentation are the 3 important stages of the operation, and access and dilation significantly affect the final results of PCNL. The size of the access sheath used as a result of dilation determines the size of the tract where the endoscopic intervention will be made, and not only affects the postoperative results and success but also determines the factors that may affect the kidney functions such as bleeding and loss of parenchyma in the kidney.

There are studies showing that less bleeding, shorter hospital stay, and better postoperative pain control are achieved with the reduction of access sheath size. In addition to conventional PCNL, methods such as mini PCNL, micro PCNL, ultra-mini PCNL, and tubeless PCNL, where the diameter of the access sheath and endoscope are gradually decreasing, both increase success and reduce morbidity.

In our study, in order to examine the postoperative functional results of 22 Fr and 28 Fr accessory sheath size;

• For the early period, the change in KIM-1 values, a validated biomarker in acute kidney injury, measured on the preoperative and postoperative day 1 will be proportioned between the groups,
• For the late period, we aimed to compare the kidney functions in the mid-long term by proportioning the DMSA and DTPA values at the preoperative and postoperative 3rd month.