Novel urethral sheath to manage bladder calculi.

Purpose: To explore the role of a new urethral sheath in transurethral lithotripsy for bladder calculi.

Methods: The 120 cases with bladder stone (BS) models were divided into three groups. One stone was placed in the bladder for each case. A total of 40 cases were included in each group. Then, the 40 cases were further divided into control group 1, control group 2, and the test group with 15, 15, and 10 cases, respectively. The sizes of the stones used for each group were 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 cm, respectively. In control group 1, the ureteroscope was used. In control group 2, the ureteroscope was inserted via the outer sheath of the resectoscope. In the test group, the new sheath was used.

Results: Mean BS removal times in control group 1, control group 2, and the test group were 86±15.5, 45.5±12.2, and 11.5±5.5 minutes, respectively (P=0.001, n=40). For a BS with a diameter of 1.5 cm, the mean removal times were 27.5±4.8, 13.5±3.6, and 5.5±2 minutes, respectively (P=0.00). For a BS with a diameter of 2.0 cm, the mean removal times were 79.5±8.8, 41.5±4.5, and 12.5±3.5 minutes, respectively (P=0.00). For a BS with a diameter of 3.0 cm, the mean removal times were 189.5±28, 141.5±23.2, and 56.5±13 minutes, respectively (P=0.001).

Conclusion: The new JQL sheath is suitable for the transurethral management of BS and can significantly improve the efficiency, thus resulting in a simple and effective operation.