Thermal effects of Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy during retrograde intrarenal surgery and percutaneous nephrolithotomy in an ex vivo porcine kidney model

Purpose To evaluate the thermal effect of high-power holmium:yttrium–aluminum–garnet (Ho:YAG) laser lithotripsy in flexible/semirigid ureteroscopy (fURS/sURS) and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) in a standardized ex vivo porcine kidney model with real-time temperature assessment. Methods The experimental setup consisted of three models designed to evaluate the thermal effects of Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy in fURS, sURS and PNL, respectively. In all setups, a postmortem porcine kidney was placed in a 37 °C water bath. Three thermocouples were inserted into the renal parenchyma while a flexible thermocouple was placed 3–4 mm proximal to the laser fiber to measure temperature variations in the collecting system. The thermal impact was evaluated in relation to laser power between 5 and 100 W and various irrigation rates (37 °C, 0–100 ml/min). Results In all three experimental setups, sufficient irrigation was required to prevent potentially damaging temperatures into the renal pelvis and parenchyma. Even 5 W in fURS can lead to a potentially harming temperature rise if insufficient irrigation is applied. Particularly, high-power settings ≥ 30 W carry an elevated risk for critical temperature rises. The results allow the definition of a specific irrigation threshold for any power setting to prevent critical temperatures in the present study design. Conclusions Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy bears the risk of thermal damages to the urinary tract even at low-power settings if inadequate irrigation is applied. Sufficient irrigation is mandatory to perform safe Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy. Based on the results, we developed a formula calculating the approximate Δ T for irrigation rates ≥ 30 ml/min: Δ T = 15 K × (power [W]/irrigation [ml/min]).