Cl in ic al s tu di es First Romanian experience with Robotic ( Avicenna ) Flexible Ureteroscopy in Renal Stones

Introduction and Objectives. Roboflex Avicenna represents a new platform for flexible ureteroscopy, capable to provide a safer and more effective lithotripsy for renal calculi. Materials and methods. The study was prospective and included a number of 66 patients which underwent robotic flexible ureteroscopy (FURS) for renal calculi between July and December 2015. All the procedures were performed with a Storz SPIeS type flexible ureteroscope in association with Avicenna Roboflex. Stone fragmentation was performed using a Dornier Medilas 20H, Holmium Laser of 20 watt power and 2.1μm wavelength. Results. The mean age was 51 years (range 25-74 years) and the mean stone size was 2.4 cm (range 1.0-3.7 cm). The average operatory time was 45 min (range 38-103 min), while the average dusting time was 35 min (range 27-86 min). Concerning the intraoperative complications, there was only one case of intraoperative bleeding during robotic FURS. The number of cases which required retreatment was significantly reduced for robotic FURS (only 9.1%). The stone free rate after 3 months was 92.4%, thus representing a clear performance of the robotic technique. In some cases there were noticed residual fragments smaller than 3 mm, in 12.1% of patients who underwent robotic FURS. Conclusions. The robotic treatment of kidney stones represents already a viable method with confirmed outcomes.