Introduction
Kidney stones are an important health problem with a high prevalence
worldwide. According to recent studies, the prevalence of kidney stones
in the United States was found to be 8.8% (1). This rate is between 1%
and 15% worldwide, depending on age, gender, race and geographical area
(2).
The frequent occurrence of kidney stones have increased the need for
more effective and safe methods in stone treatment. Advances in
fiberoptic technologies, intracorporeal lithotripters and grasping
devices have made retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) an effective and
safe minimally invasive method for treatment (3).
The European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines recommends the RIRS
as an alternative approach when the percutaneous nephrolithotomy and
shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) are not an option even for larger than 2 cm
in size (4). Retrograde intrarenal surgery is a sophisticated surgical
procedure that requires the efficient use of different technologies at
the same time. Surgical experience is an important factor affecting the
safety of RIRS (5). Live surgery events (LSEs) are frequently organized
to transfer surgical experiences to surgeons beginning of the learning
curve. On the other hand, live surgery is a controversial issue in terms
of ethics and legal (6). The European Association of Urology publishes
its policy on live surgical activities with a review of panel
recommendations (7). But previous studies do not provide a direct
evidence of higher complication and lower stone-free rates that can make
RIRS an ethic and legal problem in LSEs.
This study aims to investigate the outcomes and complication rates of
patients undergoing RIRS at the LSEs organized by the Society of
Urological Surgery in Turkey (SUST) and compare it with a matched
control group.