Stone Clearance With Aspiration vs Other Technologies: a Real-world Evidence Study

The CVAC Aspiration System is a sterile, single use, steerable ureteral catheter system with integrated vision, irrigation and aspiration for the treatment and removal of urinary stones (kidney stones, fragments, and dust).

Group/Cohort Description: FANS is designed to incorporate suction to facilitate stone fragment removal through its lumen and is used with a separate ureteroscope. FANS is fitted with a Y connector with a pressure control vent and connects to a standard vacuum device. A separate ureteroscope provides direct visualization and irrigation and a separate specimen collector captures stone debris.

DISS is a system that integrates controlled suction into the working channel of a standard flexible ureteroscope during ureteroscopic lithotripsy. A suction adapter is attached externally to the ureteroscope's working port, which connects to a standard hospital suction source.

URS allows the surgeon to visualize the stone by inserting the ureteroscope into the ureter, most often a flexible scope that allows them to accommodate to the shape of the ureter and renal collecting system. A laser fiber is advanced through the working channel of the ureteroscope to perform stone fragmentation (dusting or breaking up the calculi). Once the stones are dusted or fragmented, the pieces can be removed by active extraction of individual stone fragments using a retrieval basket or using the concept of stone dusting where the fragments are small enough to be passed after the procedure.

This is a surgical procedure under general anesthesia, where a rigid probe is placed through the flank, creating a percutaneous tract into the renal collecting system under fluoroscopy. Via nephoscopy, stones are fragmented, pulverized, and extracted.