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Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL or PNL)

For treatment of kidney stones

Procedure

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is a mini-invasive procedure for removing medium (≥2 cm) to larger size renal calculi (kidney stones) from the patient’s urinary tract by means of a nephroscope passed into the kidney through a percutaneous track created in the patient’s lower flank or abdomen.

PCNL was first performed in Sweden in 1973 as a less invasive alternative to open surgery on the kidneys.

The term 'percutaneous' means that the procedure is done through the skin. Nephrolithotomy is a term formed from two Greek words that mean 'kidney' and 'removing stones by cutting'.

Using fluoroscopy and ultrasonic imagery the urologist inserts a hollow needle into the renal pelvis of the kidney. This passage is then dilated to accommodate the nephroscope. Worldwide, the Swiss LithoClast® range of products are the most common stone evacuation devices used in this procedure.

EMS is the global leader in rigid intracorporeal lithotripsy and the Swiss LithoClast® Master is specifically designed to evacuate the hardest and largest stones in the kidney via PCNL procedures.

Pediatric PCNL

 

5-year-old child with multiple stones in the left kidney.


Patient was in Galdakao-modified Valdivia position and fluoroscopy guided puncture was performed; a nephrostomy balloon catheter of 24 Fr. was used for dilation.

Video courtesy of Dr. G. Collura, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hosp., Rome, Italy

 

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