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LETTERS TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 34
| Issue : 2 | Page : 164 |
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Author reply: Wei Gan JJ, Lia Gan JJ, Hsien Gan JJ, Lee KT. Lateral percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A safe and effective surgical approach. Indian J Urol 2018;34:45-50
Jasmine Ju-Hsien Gan1, Jaslyn Ju-Lia Gan1, Jonathan Jian-Wei Gan2, Kim Tiong Lee3
1 University College London Medical School, Gower Street, Kings Cross, London, UK
2 Department of Surgery, Tameside General Hospital, Fountain St, Ashton-under-Lyne, UK
3 Puteri Specialist Hospital, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
| Date of Web Publication | 2-Apr-2018 |
Correspondence Address:
Jonathan Jian-Wei Gan
Department of Surgery, Tameside General Hospital, Fountain St, Ashton-under-Lyne
UK
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/iju.IJU_80_18
How to cite this article:
Gan JJ, Gan JJ, Gan JJ, Lee KT. Author reply: Wei Gan JJ, Lia Gan JJ, Hsien Gan JJ, Lee KT. Lateral percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A safe and effective surgical approach. Indian J Urol 2018;34:45-50. Indian J Urol 2018;34:164 |
How to cite this URL:
Gan JJ, Gan JJ, Gan JJ, Lee KT. Author reply: Wei Gan JJ, Lia Gan JJ, Hsien Gan JJ, Lee KT. Lateral percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A safe and effective surgical approach. Indian J Urol 2018;34:45-50. Indian J Urol [serial online] 2018 [cited 2023 Mar 31];34:164. Available from: https://www.indianjurol.com/text.asp?2018/34/2/164/229047 |
Dear Editor,
We thank the readers for their comments to our article.[1] We fully agree that the optimal access for pelvic/lower pole/upper ureteric stones (in fact, in a majority of large renal stones) is through an upper pole puncture, preferably using the safer subcostal approach. However, this approach can be difficult to achieve in prone/supine percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) due to inherent anatomical limitations. Often, a longer, more dangerous supracostal approach is needed when upper pole puncture is deemed necessary.
From the comparative experiences with prone and lateral PCNL, we feel that the use of a “kidney break” (only possible in lateral position) is a major factor in reducing the need for supracostal access; the lateral flexion of the spine moves the 12th rib cranially widening the lumbodorsal space, allowing easier access to the upper pole subcostally. This is reflected in the much higher rate of successful subcostal access in our series. In fact, lateral PCNL also seemed to make lower pole access easier and better aligned with the renal axis by moving the pelvis caudally, especially in short, fat patients.
We believe and like to emphasize that the lateral position confers numerous other advantages, especially a faster and more efficient stone clearance rate-fragments fall out/easily flushed from (sometimes difficult to access) calyces into pelvis by gravity.
In the 4 cases abandoned in this series, three had very turbid urine, suspicious of pus during the initial puncture-these kidneys were drained, patients treated with adequate antibiotics before returning for definitive PCNL. In one patient, a large upper ureteric stone was too impacted with a somewhat “kinked/distorted” pelviureteric junction (PUJ), rendering the attempted PCNL difficult. Conversion to an open ureterolithotomy was a breeze as the patient was already in the standard position for an open ureteric/renal surgery!
Kind Regards,
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Wei Gan JJ, Lia Gan JJ, Hsien Gan JJ, Lee KT. Lateral percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A safe and effective surgical approach. Indian J Urol 2018;34:45-50.  [ PUBMED] |
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