PCNL Surgery
Kidney stones are formed in the urinary tract due to crystallization of chemical compounds in the urine. PCNL is a technique used to remove certain stones in the kidney or upper ureter (the tube that drains urine from the kidney to the bladder) that are too large for other forms of stone treatment such as shock wave lithotripsy or ureteroscopy.
This approach is an alternative to a ureteroscopy. With a PCNL procedure, the urologist makes a one-centimeter incision in the back or side of the abdomen. A nephroscope is passed through the incision to the stone location.
With this scope, small stones can be manually extracted. If, however, the stones are large, they may need to be broken up with ultrasonic, electrohydraulic or laser-tipped probes before they can be extracted (known as PCNL with laser lithotripsy). A tube may be inserted into the kidney for drainage.