Two Types of Single-use Flexible Ureteroscopies for the Treatment of Upper Urinary Tract Stones in Children

The single-use digital fURS is a sterile, disposable, flexible endoscope. Compared to traditional reusable digital flexible endoscopes, single-use digital fURS has lower maintenance costs, is easier to operate, and effectively avoids cross-infection between patients. With technological advancements, the size of single-use digital fURS has become increasingly slim, making them particularly suitable for children with narrow and tortuous ureters who suffered urinary stones. Currently, the single-use digital fURS used in our unit has an outer diameter of 8.6Fr. For younger children, the success rate of the first insertion of the fURS is still relatively low. When the fURS cannot pass through the ureter, it is necessary to actively dilate the ureter with a balloon in one stage, or passively dilate it with a urethral stent during the procedure to facilitate a second-stage fURS procedure. This not only increases the risk of ureteral injury but also incurs additional medical expenses. Recently, HugeMed Company has launched a single-use digital fURS with an outer diameter of 6.3 Fr, which is currently the thinnest single-use fURS in the world, and its effectiveness and safety have been preliminarily verified in clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to compare the safety and efficacy of the 6.3 Fr fURS (HU30S) and the 8.6 Fr fURS (XFGC-FU-660RC) in the clinical treatment of upper urinary tract stones in children.