The impact of modern endourological techniques in the treatment of a century old disease--medullary sponge kidney with associated nephrolithiasis.

The remarkable progresses of imagistic and interventional techniques that have been implemented during the last decades facilitated the diagnostic and allowed the treatment indication changes for numerous renal disorders. The purpose of the present lecture was to outline a data review concerning a renal anomaly first described one century ago as well as to evaluate the impact of endourologic technical progresses over the therapeutic management of the respective disease. The medullary sponge kidney (MSK) or Cacchi-Ricci disorder represents a disturbance in the renal development characterized by the cystic type dilation and diffuse precalyceal ducts ectasias. The disease is also known as precalyceal tubular ectasia, pyramidal sponge kidney or cystic dilation of the renal collecting ducts MSK patients are most often asymptomatic, the diagnosis being emphasized in light of the investigations imposed by related complications such as renal stones, urinary tract infections (pyelonephritis), renal tubes acidosis or urine concentration defects.