Review: Current status of the laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of urinary calculi [Derleme: Üriner sistem taş Hastal?g?nda Laparoskopik Cerrahinin son durumu]

Introduction: Currently, most of the urinary tract stones can successfully be treated with endourologic procedures, namely, shock wave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, flexible ureterorenoscopy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy. When these modalities either failed or not indicated, a minimally invasive approach is needed as an alternative to open surgery. Laparoscopic surgery achieved a great progression within the last two decades and it has been shown that almost all kind of open stone surgeries can be performed laparoscopically. Laparoscopy has definite advantages over open surgery and it should not solely be considered as a salvage procedure, but also a first choice in select cases in the treatment of urinary stone disease. Current status of the laparoscopic urinary stone surgery will be reviewed in the light of the literature and our experiences will be presented