Fibrin gel-assisted stone extraction in retrograde intrarenal surgery

Small stone fragments inevitably resulted from breakage of a large stone are almost impossible to be fully extracted from the collecting system in current RIRS settings. While most of these clinically insignificant residual fragments (CIRFs) < 4 mm may pass spontaneously, increasing evidence suggests that these so called CIRFs may act as an origin for new stone formation and eventually lead to reintervention(1). Therefore, it is of paramount importance to achieve complete stone free status in the aim of improving patient's quality of life not only physically but also psychologically and economically(2).