Validity of a sponge trainer as a simple training model for percutaneous renal access.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of our simply designed trainer for junior urologists to acquire the initial skills for percutaneous renal access (PRA).

Subjects And Methods: Three sponge sheets (60 × 50 × 10 cm) were arranged horizontally over each other. A rectangular groove was made in the middle sheet to accommodate an inflated balloon of a Foley catheter, radio-opaque metal balls, metal rings, or a plastic tube that were sequentially placed for the four training tasks.