Can J Urol
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Multicenter Study
Experience with robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery in upper tract urolithiasis.
Early results indicate that robot assisted laparoscopic surgery (RALS) may be useful in managing upper tract (UT) urolithiasis. We reviewed our experience of managing 50 cases of UT urolithiasis with or without reconstruction using RALS. ⋯ RALS for UT urolithiasis is safe and efficacious. It is particularly useful when stone removal is combined with reconstruction. It is a reasonable alternative for treating a solitary partial staghorn or a large pelvic stone including those in pelvic/anomalous kidneys. RALS did not seem substantially better than pure laparoscopy for isolated ureterolithotomy and for nephrectomy for a nonfunctioning kidney. Its role in the treatment of large, multiple or complete staghorn calculi needs further investigation.