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Illustration of a surgeon while waving

La nefrolitotomia percutanea (PCNL) per i calcoli renali

La nefrolitotomia percutanea (PCNL) è una procedura chirurgica utilizzata per rimuovere calcoli renali grandi o complessi. Scopri come funziona, cosa aspettarti e a chi è destinata.

This type of operation is carried out when you have a number of kidney stones that are hard to reach or if they are too large (larger than 2cm) to be treated with shock waves or other methods like ureteroscopy.

During the operation, the doctor makes a small cut in your back to reach your kidney and remove the stones.

This type of surgery is done while you are asleep under general anaesthesia. You will need to stay in the hospital until you're able to comfortably empty your bladder and your pain and risk of bleeding are well controlled.

After the surgery, your doctor may place a small plastic tube (called a stent) to help urine flow, or a thin tube may be inserted through your back to drain urine into a bag. These are only temporary and will be removed by your doctor after a few days.

This animation shows what happens during percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Illustration of a Nephroscope being used to remove stones from a Kidney.
A nephroscope is used to remove stones directly from the kidney
Close up illustration of a nephroscope being used on a kidney to remove stones.
I frammenti di pietra vengono rimossi in un'unica procedura con un nefroscopio.

This type of surgery is done while you are asleep under general anaesthesia. You will need to stay in the hospital until you're able to comfortably empty your bladder and your pain and risk of bleeding are well controlled.

After the surgery, your doctor may place a small plastic tube (called a stent) to help urine flow, or a thin tube (called a nephrostomy tube) may be inserted through your back to drain urine into a bag. These are only temporary and will be removed by your doctor after a few days.

JJ stent catheter inserted on a kidney and bladder to allow urine to flow in the urinary tract.
A JJ-stent is inserted to make sure urine can flow through the urinary tract.
Illustration of a percutaneous nephrostomy tube. Medical instrument used to drain urine directly from the kidney.
A percutaneous nephrostomy tube is used to drain urine directly from the kidney into the catheter bag.

Questa animazione mostra cosa succede durante la nefrolitotomia percutanea.

Questo capitolo contiene informazioni generali sui calcoli renali. Non sostituisce il parere medico professionale o il trattamento. Consultate sempre il vostro medico o fornitore di assistenza sanitaria per ricevere indicazioni sulla vostra situazione medica individuale.

Ultimo aggiornamento: luglio 2025

Revisionato da: 

  • Dott.ssa Amelia Pietropaolo (Gruppo di Lavoro YAU su Endourologia & Urolitiasi)
  • Dott. Riccardo Lombardo (Gruppo di Linee Guida sull'Incontinenza Urinaria)