Introduction
Urolithiasis is one of the most common health problems with increasing
occurrence rate worldwide[1]. In recent years, the number of
patients with upper urinary tract calculi has increased significantly,
most of them were renal calculi. Among of these patients, 25% of them
need surgical intervention when they were diagnosed[2]. At present,
minimally invasive surgery is the main treatment for the upper urinary
tract stone, which including extracorporeal shock wave
lithotripsy(ESWL), laparoscopic ureterolithotomy, percutaneous
nephrolithotomy(PCNL), ureteroscopy lithotripsy(URS) and flexible
ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy (FURSL).With advances in endoscopic
technology coupled with the development of laser lithotripsy systems and
novel endoscopic baskets, flexible ureteroscopy has become an
increasingly popular option for the treatment of upper urinary tract
stones, especially for renal stones[3-7]. At present, many
literatures[8-11] show that flexible ureteroscopy can successfully
treat patients with stones > 2 cm with a high stone-free
rate and a low complication rate, and show that the efficacy of flexible
ureteroscopy can allow an alternative to PCNL. With the continuous
improvement and perfection of flexible ureteroscope and associated
lithotripsy equipment, especially the development of YAG holmium laser
system, it has the advantages of small trauma and high stone free rate
(SFR). It has brought a qualitative leap for the minimally invasive
treatment of upper urinary tract calculi and is favored by the majority
of clinicians. However, in the clinical practices, we found that the
actual effect of FURSL is not as good as most literature reports, it
will be influenced by many factors and there are some shortcomings and
limitations. Base on it, we reviewed the patients treated by FURSL in
our unit from January 2015 to October 2020, and analyzed the clinical
efficacy of FURSL in the treatment of upper urinary tract calculi.