The Urology Service at Hospital da Luz Lisboa performed, last January 20, a minimally invasive surgery to treat a patient with a large calculus in the right kidney, using the most advanced equipment recently acquired by the hospital, namely, the MiniPerc kit (a specific endoscopic system to operate inside the kidney) and Moses Laser . The surgery was performed by a team comprising urologists António Almeida Santos and Bruno Graça (in the photo above) assisted by anaesthesiologist Luís Liça and nurses Carla Sanches, Inês Dias and Gonçalo Paraíso. Renal lithiasis – regularly known as kidney stones – is a very common disease of the urinary tract, where the metabolic alterations of the body generate the formation of calculi (stones) in the kidney, as a result of the accumulation of crystals, being the frequent and recurrent cause of great pain, eventually leading to renal insufficiency. The percutaneous surgery , a minimally invasive technique used in centres of reference for the treatment of large renal calculi, in replacement of the open surgery to the kidney, which entails multiple complications, consists in the use of a small aperture in the skin, in the lumbar region, through which a tubular device is inserted inside the kidney, allowing the passage of the surgical instruments of visualization, fragmentation and removal of fragments of calculi under intervention. The MiniPerc system is similar to the traditional percutaneous surgery, but uses small dimension devices. It allows to carry on the intervention with an incision to the skin about 70% smaller than in traditional percutaneous surgery, of approximately 5 mm, with a lower rate of residual fragments, lower risk of infection and post-operative bleeding, shorter hospitalization (24 hours or less), besides a post-operative stage with practically no pain, with an earlier return to active life, excellent aesthetical results (no visible scar on the third month) and lower costs for the patient. In the case of the intervention now performed at Hospital da Luz Lisboa, the 71-year-old female patient had a large calculus (20x16 mm) in the right kidney, which was completely fragmented with the laser, the great majority of the fragments being removed. The surgery and post-operative period registered no complications, namely in terms of bleeding, infection or pain, which allowed the patient to be released from hospital after 24 hours.
