The Sanlu infant milk powder incident is now clear. These little babies may not remember having such an experience when they grow up, it is hard to see scars on their bodies, and there will be no damage to their kidney function later, all because of the minimally invasive methods doctors used to treat the children’s stones. According to the Ministry of Health, Peking University People’s Hospital received the five children referred from Hebei Children’s Hospital on October 5. Dr. Yang Bo of the urology department of the hospital said that the oldest of the five children was 8 years old and the youngest was only 7 months old. They all suffered from complex stones, and in addition to the size and distribution of the stones, which made treatment difficult, they also had comorbidities, elevated blood creatinine, and formed stones that had led to significant upper urinary tract obstruction and varying degrees of renal impairment. Dr. Ye Xiongjun, a urologist at the hospital, said that there are three traditional treatments for stones: surgery, extracorporeal lithotripsy and minimally invasive treatment. These treatments are for adults or older children, and are not suitable for infants and young children. Since the kidneys of infants are very small, surgery is very traumatic and will not only cause major damage to the kidneys, but also leave large scars on the body; using extracorporeal lithotripter to crush stones requires X-ray positioning and prolonged exposure, which is undoubtedly harmful to infants who are not yet functional. Minimally invasive treatment for such small children is not as experienced as for adults. Dr. Li Jianxing, the deputy chief of urology who operated on the “stone babies”, said, “In the above five cases, conservative treatment was not effective. If the stones are not drained in time, different degrees of urinary obstruction will occur; if hydronephrosis occurs, it will lead to further increase of pressure on the kidney cortex, gradually causing damage to kidney function and even loss; if the kidney infection after the secondary obstruction, the consequences will be even more unimaginable.” Minimally invasive treatment has the advantages of small trauma and fast recovery, but it is not easy to use minimally invasive treatment in children. Li Jianxing said, “Since they are young children, the technical and equipment requirements are very high. Stones caused by melamine have not been done before, and there is no knowledge of the composition, hardness and looseness of the stones. In addition, children have smaller kidneys, slender urethra and very restricted safety zones, making any in vivo minimally invasive operation exceptionally difficult compared to adults. Performing surgery in the kidney, which is extremely rich in blood flow, is extremely prone to bleeding, and a small amount of bleeding can affect the tiny operative field; and warm perfusate must be used intraoperatively to reduce coagulation disorders brought about by hypothermic reactions ……” In response to these difficulties, experts from the Department of Urology in conjunction with the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Anesthesia The technique of percutaneous nephrolithotomy for lithotripsy was discussed and decided to be used. The percutaneous nephrolithotomy lithotripsy technique is a minimally invasive lumpectomy through the skin, using ultrasound, laser and pneumatic ballast for lithotripsy treatment. The Department of Urology at Peking University People’s Hospital has a strong capability in this area, having performed more than 4,000 adult percutaneous nephrolithotomy lithotripsy procedures. The doctors modified the short branch ureteroscope to percutaneous nephrolithoscopy and performed the first percutaneous nephrolithoscopy for a two-and-a-half-year-old “stone baby” on October 8. On October 9, the other two “stone babies” were also operated successfully. At present, these three children have completed the post-operative review, ultrasound examination did not see the stone residue, the kidney water has been relieved, and after a few days of treatment, the drainage tube can be removed and then discharged from the hospital.