For upper ureteral stone, semirigid ureteroscopy or flexible ureteroscopy? Strengths and weaknesses

Abstract

Background: Flexible and semirigid ureteroscopy are two often used modalities in treating for upper ureteral stone. How about the outcome of each procedure? Methods: A retrospective cohort study among 167 patients who underwent flexible or semirigid ureteroscopic lithotripsy was performed. The pre-, intra-, postoperative and one-year follow-up outcomes were taken into comparison. Results: Significantly higher instant stone-clearance rate (81.3% vs. 92.4%, p =.032) and less operative time (62.1 ± 27.6 min vs. 44.1 ± 24.6 min, p