ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Surg.
Sec. Genitourinary Surgery and Interventions
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2025.1628264
Efficacy and safety of two tip flexible suctioning ureteral access sheaths combined with a 7.5Fr flexible ureteroscope: a retrospective study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhongshan People's Hospital (ZSPH), Zhongshan, China
- 2Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Objective: This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of two tip-flexible suctioning ureteral access sheaths (TFS-UAS), 12/14Fr (Group A) and 10/12Fr (Group B), combined with a 7.5Fr flexible ureteroscope (f-URS) for treating upper ureteral and renal stones.Methods: A retrospective analysis of 168 patients undergoing retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) was conducted. Group A (n=76) used a 12/14Fr TFS-UAS, while Group B (n=92) used a 10/12Fr TFS-UAS. Primary outcomes included stone-free rates (SFR) (Grade I: ≤2 mm; Grade II: ≤4 mm fragments), operative times, and complications.Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable between groups. Group A demonstrated significantly shorter operation (72.5 vs. 78.5 min, P < 0.05) and lithotripsy durations (57.5 vs. 64.5 min, P < 0.05). Immediate SFR (Grade I) was higher in Group A (86.8% vs. 71.7%, P = 0.018), but 1-month SFR showed no difference (90.8% vs. 84.4%, P = 0.242). Grade II SFR and complication rates (ureteric injury, fever, sepsis) were similar (P > 0.05).The 12/14Fr TFS-UAS combined with a 7.5Fr f-URS offers superior lithotripsy efficiency and immediate SFR compared to the 10/12Fr variant, while maintaining comparable long-term outcomes and safety. These findings support its clinical preference for RIRS in upper tract calculi.
Keywords: Retrograde intrarenal surgery, ureteral access sheath, Flexible ureteroscopy, stone-free rate, Suctioning
Received: 29 May 2025; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Luo, Li, Lin, Li, He, Yuan and Gong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jinquan Luo, Zhongshan People's Hospital (ZSPH), Zhongshan, China
Mancheng Gong, Zhongshan People's Hospital (ZSPH), Zhongshan, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.