Adjuvant surgical techniques in the removal of staghorn calculi.

Surgical removal of staghorn calculi can be difficult. We describe a retrospective review of 21 patients who underwent 22 operations for the removal of staghorn calculi. Subsequent urinary infections occurred in 30 per cent and recurrent stones developed in 20 per cent of the patients. We emphasize the accuracy and importance of intraoperative roentgenography, the usefulness and morbidity of hemiacidrin irrigation and the postoperative stability of renal function measured by a radionuclide renal function test.