The long-term stone recurrence rate and renal function change in unilateral nephrectomy urolithiasis patients.

We evaluated the stone recurrence rate and long-term renal function in 50 patients with a solitary kidney 60 to 84 months (mean 70.6) after unilateral nephrectomy for urinary tract stone disease. Followup evaluation included a detailed history, physical examination, blood and urine biochemistry studies, urinalysis, urine culture, excretory urography, ultrasonography of the kidney and 131iodine-ortho-iodohippurate renography. The overall stone recurrence rate in unilateral nephrectomy urolithiasis patients was 30% (15 of 50). The mean interval until stone recurrence was 31.1 months (range 6 to 74) and the mean episodes of recurrence were 2.1 times per patient (range 1 to 5). Function of the remnant kidney in most patients was unchanged during followup. However, 2 of the 15 patients with recurrent stones had anuria during the acute attack of renal colic and, thus, required percutaneous nephrostomy urinary diversion, while 1 had proteinuria (3 gm. per day) and progressive renal failure 47 months after nephrectomy. The metabolic stone patients seemed to experience recurrence more easily than metabolic stone patients seemed to experience recurrence more easily than infection stone patients (37% versus 13%) but no statistically significant difference was noted (p = 0.198).