Minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy for isolated kidney stones Liu Qingyong1 Li Qing1 Wei Xuebin1 Huang Shiming1 Zhao Qingli1 Xu Liuyu1 Huang Shengliang1 Li Shun1 Wang Jin1 Yang Yuanfeng2 Department of Urology, Shandong Qianfo Mountain Hospital Liu Qingyong1 Department of Urology, Shandong Qianfo Mountain Hospital; 2 Zouping County Central Hospital [Abstract] Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL) for the treatment of isolated kidney stones and safety. METHODS: To retrospectively analyze the clinical data of 39 patients, aged 23 to 72 years, who underwent MPCNL under ultrasound guidance for the treatment of isolated kidney stones from April 2003 to September 2013. Data on stone size, number of channels, operation time, stone removal rate, postoperative hospital stay, operative complications, and renal function changes were examined and compared. RESULTS: Thirty-four of the 39 patients had stage I lithotripsy for stone removal, and 3 patients with complications of renal pus and 2 patients with renal failure had percutaneous nephrostomy for drainage first, and stage II MPCNL was performed after the infection was controlled and renal function improved. 32 stones were removed via single channel and 7 stones were removed via double channel. Holmium laser lithotripsy was used to retrieve the stone in 31 cases and 5 cases required 2 times to retrieve the stone. The stone removal rate was 92.31%, and 3 cases were treated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy after surgery. Postoperative hemoglobin decreased by 11-21 (15.3±4.7) g/L; postoperative hospitalization ranged from 5 to 14 (5.7±1.5) d. Among the 9 patients with renal insufficiency, 7 cases returned to normal and 2 cases improved significantly during the follow-up period of 3-12 months. There was no case of major bleeding and intermediate open surgery. Conclusion B ultrasound-guided MPCNL for isolated kidney stones has the advantages of high safety, good effectiveness, little trauma, fast recovery, and few complications.