Search

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy: wisdom, dogma, paradigm and myths

A non-transpapillary technique appears to ease access to the kidney – the most critical step in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) – when compared to the classic transpapillary approach. Remarkably, the earliest descriptions of percutaneous access by Goodwin et al. in 1955...

Time for tea

Kidney stone disease can be related to genetic, biochemical, and dietary factors. Much has been said about the link between tea and coffee consumption and risks of urinary stone formation. This is a systematic review using the PRISM statement with...

Cloud storage revisited

Cloud storage simply refers to digital files that are uploaded by users and stored remotely in the ‘cloud’ (usually these files are physically stored on servers owned by large companies e.g. Amazon, Microsoft, Dropbox and accessed via the web). In...

Tissue-based biomarkers steering clinical decisions in patients with urothelial cancer

Biomarkers play an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of urothelial cancer (UC), with PD-L1, FGFR, and MMR proteins being the most clinically established. These biomarkers, derived from histological specimens, guide therapeutic decisions for bladder cancer (BCa) and upper...

Efficacy of flexible ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy for lower pole renal calculi

The management of lower pole renal stones (LPS) is often difficult. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), flexible ureterorenoscopy (fURS) and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) are all potential options with potential benefits and disadvantages. In order to assess the success of fURS...

Stone Pass: Kidney Stones app

For this Digital Review I have focused on the Stone Pass: Kidney Stones app (Know Stone LLC) – a new information tool for patients with ureteric stones. I had recently seen a shared tweet originating from the app’s author Dr...

Virtual and augmented reality in surgery

Virtual reality (VR) is a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be accessed using a virtual reality headset, allowing individuals to immerse themselves in this virtual world. Augmented reality (AR) systems layer virtual information over a live camera feed into...