Percutaneous nephrostomy: experience in 107 kidneys.

We were successful using percutaneous nephrostomy to relieve upper urinary obstruction in 98 of 107 kidneys. In two thirds of our patients obstruction was due to neoplasm, with prostatic cancer the leading cause. Percutaneous nephrostomy proved to be ideally suited for drainage of pyonephrosis and in azotemic patients. Its use can obviate surgical nephrostomy and prolonged ureteral catheter drainage. We also are encouraged by our early experience with extensions of percutaneous nephrostomy, including percutaneous ureteral stenting, renal stone dissolution, and percutaneous pyelolithotomy.