Percutaneous access techniques in renal surgery.

Percutaneous renal surgery is continually being improved, refined, and embraced by urologists worldwide. With the advent of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), many percutaneous techniques have been abandoned or forgotten. We are learning, however, that ESWL is not a panacea for all urinary calculi and different methods need to be used to obtain stone-free patients. We discuss the history, anatomy, techniques, and specific problems and complications ofpercutaneous renal surgery specifically relating to renal stone disease.