Is there a role for open stone surgery?

The surgical management of urinary-stone disease has undergone dramatic cha nges and has seen the implementation of technologic innovations that are un surpassed in the field of urologic surgery over the past 20 years. Before t hese advancements of the past 2 decades, open surgery was the only surgical option for urolithiasis. The introduction and development of percutaneous renal surgery, the significant achievement of extracorporeal shock-wave lit hotripsy, the refinement of ureteroscopy, and technical advancements in the available modalities for intracorporeal lithotripsy have led to a revoluti on in the manner in which urinary-stone disease is managed surgically.