The contemporary management of renal and ureteric calculi

Contemporary stone management should be based on treatment algorithms derived from outcomes, now strongly evidence-based. Figure 1(a,b) presents algorithms for managing both renal (a) and ureteric (b) calculi. As urinary stone disease is common and often recurrent, the application of such algorithms, combined with stone prophylaxis measures, should minimize patient morbidity and hospital attendance, obviate open surgery and preserve renal function in an acceptable and minimally invasive manner.