Comparative Study between Retrograde Intrarenal Surgery and Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy for the Treatment of Renal Stones

Background: The prevalence of urolithiasis has increased during the last decades and now affects approximately 9% of the adult population specially in developed countries. European Urology Guidelines recommend PCNL in stones larger than 2 cm in size and ESWL in stones smaller than 2 cm in size as the first treatment option. With advances in technology, new generation flexible ureteroscopes with safe and effective lithotripters such as holmium laser have been developed and RIRS became an important alternative in the treatment of large urinary stones