Efficacy and safety of holmium laser lithotripsy in the treatment of posterior urethral stones

Abstract

Aim Urethral stones constitute less than 1% of the stones observed in the urinary system. Due to their rare occurrence, there is a limited number of studies on the treatment of urethral stones. In this study, the efficacy and reliability of holmium laser lithotripsy applied to male patients with posterior urethral calculi were analyzed retrospectively.Methods Forty-one cases of male patients who received holmium laser lithotripsy due to posterior urethral stones between January 2011 and December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The complications of the patients were evaluated according to age, application complaints, stone dimensions, etiologic factors, operation time, and modified Clavien classification.Results The mean age of the patients was 38.4 ± 16.7 years. Acute urinary retention was recorded in 26 (63.4%) patients, hematuria in 4 (9.8%), difficulty in urinating in 5 (12.1%), perineal pain in 4 (9.8%), and
dysuria in 2 (4.9%) as the main admission finding. The smallest stone size was 9 mm and the largest stone size was 24 mm. Twenty-four of the 41 patients (58.5%) were found to have a stone in another localization of the urinary system along with the urethra stone. A total of 11 (26.8%) patients had a history of previous urological surgery.Discussion In the present retrospective study, 41 male patients with posterior urethral stones were successfully treated using endoscopic holmium laser lithotripsy with low complication rates.Conclusion According to the results obtained in our study, holmium laser lithotripsy was an effective and reliable method for the treatment of posterior urethral stones.

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