The Feasibility, Safety, and Efficacy of Not Indwelling of Ureteral Stents in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is currently the preferred treatment for upper urinary tract stones larger than 2cm. In the standard PCNL procedure, a nephrostomy tube and a ureteral stent are often placed before the end of surgery to ensure urine drainage, promote fistula healing, and reduce the occurrence of kidney stones entering the ureter. With the improvement of surgical techniques, PCNL without indwelling nephrostomy tube but with indwelling ureteral stent (also called "tubeless PCNL") or PCNL without indwelling nephrostomy tube and ureteral stent (also called "totally tubeless PCNL") has been put into practice. Compared with the standard PCNL , tubeless or totally tubeless PCNL can effectively reduce postoperative pain and shorten hospital stay, while the incidence of complications does not significantly increase.

Is it possible not to leave a ureteral stent but leave a nephrostomy tube (also called "stent-less PCNL") after PCNL? This clever method combined two advantages. In theory, the nephrostomy tube can have certain effect, such as decreasing the risk of post-operative bleeding, and avoiding the occurrence of emergency events related to ureteral stones. On the other hand, not indwelling a ureteral stent can bring benefits to patients. Recently, there is limited research on not indwelling ureteral stent after PCNL, and its safety and feasibility require clinical validation.

On the other hand, the Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life (WISQOL), as a specific quality of life scoring system for stone patients, has been widely promoted and applied in many countries around the world. Investigators have recently translated this foreign version of the scoring system into Chinese in order to help serve patients with urinary tract stones in China.

In summary, investigators conducted a single center prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare and analyze the complications of not indwelling ureteral stent after PCNL, WISQOL questionnaire scores, and explore the safety and feasibility of not indwelling ureteral stent after PCNL.