Use of the flexible vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath combined with flexible ureteroscope for patients with large renal stones

Objective: To explore the effects and safety of the flexible vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath combined with a flexible ureteroscope for the treatment of large renal stones over 3 cm.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 122 patients with kidney stones (stone diameter ≥ 3 cm) admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to December 2022 were selected as the study subjects. According to different surgical methods, these patients were divided into an observation group and a control group, with 61 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were treated with the conventional negative pressure-assisted ureteral access sheath combined with flexible ureteroscope, while those in the observation group were treated with the flexible vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath combined with flexible ureteroscope. The perioperative indexes, stone-free rate, usage rate of basket extraction, inflammation level, renal functional indexes, and incidence of postoperative complications were evaluated and compared between the two groups.

Results: The extubation time, rate of multiple operations, and surgery cost in the observation group were significantly less than those of the control group (all P < 0.05), but the operation time was longer in the observation group than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The stone-free rate at 3 days after surgery in the observation group was higher than that of the control group, while the usage rate of basket extraction of the observation group was significantly less than that of the control group (all P < 0.05). The postoperative levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and Interleukin (IL)-6 were significantly lower, while the level of IL-10 was significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group (all P < 0.001). The levels of renal functional indexes such as CysC, Scr, and KIM-1 in the observation group were lower than those of the control group (all P < 0.05). The total incidence of postoperative complications in the observation group was 8.20%, which was lower than 24.59% in the control group (P = 0.014). Moreover, postoperative sleep quality was better, and the comfort score was higher in the observation group than that of the control group (all P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The flexible vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath combined with flexible ureteroscope is effective in the treatment of large renal stones over 3 cm, and may improve the perioperative indexes, postoperative sleep quality and comfort, increase the stone-free rate, alleviate the inflammation levels and kidney functional injury, and reduce the incidence of complications.