Amplatz sheath for cystolithotripsy using Ho: YAG laser in female patients.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of cystoscopic lithotripsy, we performed Amplatz sheath technique using Ho: YAG laser. Maheshwari first reported the use of an Amplatz sheath in the female urethra in 1998, and Okeke et al reported the use of an Amplatz sheath for male patients during cystolithotripsy in 2004. The usefulness of the holmium (Ho): yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser lithotripsy is widely accepted, even for large bladder calculi. Since then, there have been no more reports of using the sheath with an Ho: YAG laser.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS: We inserted the Amplatz sheath conversely. Because of the clear visualization, we used higher laser settings with 2.5 J × 15 to 20 Hz.

RESULTS

We experienced 3 female patients that were successfully treated with the Amplatz sheath technique using Ho: YAG laser lithotripsy. In these 3 patients, whose stone burdens were 4.5, 3.8, and 4.3 cm, they were able to successfully become stone-free with surgeries of 74 minutes, 67 minutes, and 58 minutes, respectively, with no complications.

CONCLUSION

We experienced 3 female patients that were successfully treated with the Amplatz sheath technique using Ho: YAG laser lithotripsy.