Efficacy and safety of endoscopic laser lithotripsy for urinary stone treatment in children

We reviewed our 6 years of experience with endoscopic holmium: yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser lithotripsy for treatment of urinary stones in different locations in 111 children. A retrospective review was performed on endoscopic holmium: YAG laser lithotripsy procedures performed to treat stones in children between March 2006 and March 2012. In total, 120 laser lithotripsy procedures were performed to treat 131 stones in 111 children (80 males and 31 females; age range, 11 months to 16 years; median age, 6 years). Stones were located in the kidney in 48 cases (36.7 %), ureter in 52 (39.7 %), bladder in 21 (16.0 %), and urethra in 10 (7.6 %). Stone size ranged from 4 to 30 mm (mean, 12.8 mm), and anesthesia duration was 10–170 min (mean, 56 min). Forty-four ureters required balloon dilation, and 61 double J stents were inserted. Follow-up ranged from 3 to 75 months (mean, 35 months). Complete stone clearance was achieved at the end of the procedure in 102 (91.9 %) patients (age < 7 years, 93.3 % vs. age ≥ 7 years, 90.2 %; p > 0.05). The success rate was 81.3 % for kidney stones (<10 mm, 90.9 % vs. ≥ 10 mm, 78.4 %; p > 0.05) and 100 % for the ureter, bladder, and urethral stones. Overall success rate with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy was 100 %. No major complications were encountered during or after the procedures. These results confirm the effectiveness and safety of holmium laser lithotripsy for treating all urinary stone locations in children of all ages.