Bladder Calculi

The urological management of neurological patients is crucial to ensure patient survival and improve their quality of life. The natural progression of disease in central neurological bladders typically involves a major decrease in both bladder capacity and contractile function, often necessitating cystectomy. One alternative to urinary reconstruction is continent catheterizable urinary diversion (e.g., Miami pouch, Mitrofanoff, Monti, etc.). A common complication of these diversions is the formation of intravesical stones, which require surgical management. When the urethra allows access to the urinary diversion, the gold standard is transurethral lithotripsy using a cystoscope; however, when this is not feasible, several techniques exist, albeit without clear recommendations. In the literature, the most frequently discussed techniques include bladder dilation, percutaneous bladder lithotripsy using nephrolithotripsy (NLPC) equipment, and trans-stomal lithotripsy using a flexible fibroscope. Although bladder dilation has shown higher complication rates in case series compared to other techniques, there is very little comparative data between the percutaneous and trans-stomal methods in the literature. Case series indicate a higher risk of fistula formation with the percutaneous technique for urinary diversions performed in the gastrointestinal tract as compared to native bladder diversions, and a risk of stenosis or loss of continence with the trans-stomal technique. At the Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), the Urology Department of the Lyon Sud Hospital has expertise in neuro-urology with a large cohort of patients presenting continent catheterizable urinary diversions, and the Urology Department of Edouard Herriot Hopspital has expertise in NLPC, particularly with the use of mini-NLPC (smaller nephroscope diameter). The synergy between these two departments has enabled the creation of a large cohort, with frequent use of the percutaneous route for bladder lithotripsy and, since 2020, the trans-stomal route using mini-NLPC equipment. Therefore, given the limited data available in the literature, this retrospective comparative study would provide stronger evidence to improve the management of these patients.

This prospective randomized pilot study will compare vacuum-assisted mini-percutaneous cystolithotripsy with standard transurethral cystolithotripsy for the treatment of bladder stones in children. Forty children aged 2 to 14 years with bladder stone(s) measuring 10 -30 mm will be randomly assigned to one of two surgical approaches. The vacuum-assisted mini-percutaneous group will undergo suprapubic percutaneous access using a mini sheath with suction-assisted fragment evacuation, while the transurethral group will undergo standard transurethral cystolithotripsy. The primary outcome will be total operative time. Secondary outcomes will include stone-free rate ,lithotripsy time and fragment clearance time, urethral mucosal injury, postoperative hematuria, fever, urinary tract infection, sepsis, urinary retention, urinary leakage from the suprapubic tract, catheterization time, hospital stay, postoperative pain, analgesic requirement, need for auxiliary procedures or conversion, and recurrence or urethral stricture-related symptoms during follow-up.

Bladder stones are a clinically relevant pediatric urological condition that may require endoscopic treatment. Transurethral Holmium:YAG laser cystolithotripsy is a minimally invasive option for selected children with bladder stones. This prospective randomized trial will compare two Holmium:YAG laser strategies during transurethral cystolithotripsy in children with a single bladder stone less than 3 cm: dusting and fragmentation. Children will be randomized to undergo laser dusting or laser fragmentation during transurethral cystolithotripsy. The primary outcome is total operative time. Secondary outcomes include laser time, need for active fragment extraction, endoscopic stone-free status at the end of the procedure, ultrasound-assessed stone-free status during follow-up, intraoperative complications, postoperative urinary symptoms, urinary tract infection, need for postoperative catheterization, and hospital stay.