Assessment of the Effects of Access Count in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy on Renal Functions by Technetium-99m-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid Scintigraphy

Objective. To determine the effects of percutaneous nephrolithotomy on renal functions by using DMSA scintigraphy while considering access counts. Material and Methods. A total of 37 patients who had undergone percutaneous nephrolithotomy were included. Preoperative DMSA scans were performed a day before the surgery, whereas postoperative scans were randomized by evaluating them before (n = 25) and after (n = 12) the 6th postoperative month. Twenty-six of 37 cases underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy with a single access site and 11 with multiple access sites. Results. There were no significant changes of total renal functions in the whole study group (P = 0.054). In the single access group, total functions were significantly elevated (P = 0.03) In the multiple access group, while treated site functions were significantly decreased (P = 0.01), total functions did not change significantly (P = 0.42). There was an insignificant decrease in those evaluated before the 6th postoperative month (P = 0.27) and an insignificant increase in the others (P = 0.11). Conclusion. We could not find a superiority of single access over multiple accesses. There is a temporary functional loss in the treated site.