[The use of the Stone Sweeper catheter for stone disease of the upper urinary tract].

OBJECTIVES

The treatment of patients with a great burden of stones is very difficult and often requires complex treatments including different kinds of surgery, associated in some cases with ureteral stents.

METHODS

We present the case of a patient with complex renoureteral stone disease in whom we used the stone sweeper stent before SWL. The catheter is a 6.5 Fr radial expanding stent with small baskets, a special structure designed to extract small stones < 5mm.

RESULTS

The placement and retrieval of bilateral stents were performed without complications, extracting several small stones inside the baskets.

CONCLUSIONS

The Stone Sweeper stent may play an important role in the treatment of patients with great stone burden; by dilating the ureter and helping the passage of stones and capturing small residual fragments it may decrease the need of new treatments. Currently, more clinic and research tests with this stent are necessary to determine proper indications and associated complications.