The fate of the unoperated staghorn calculus.

Summary A retrospective study has been carried out to study the fate of unoperated staghorn calculi. 54 patients (63 kidneys) have been studied over a period of 17 years and the outcome has been compared with a series of patients where staghorn calculi have been treated by extended pyelolithotomy. The patients with staghorn calculi are rarely symptom-free unless they are operated on. Expectant treatment of these cases has led to subsequent nephrectomy in half the cases and the majority of the rest have died of progressive renal failure. By comparison patients treated surgically have fared significantly better. The value of early and complete removal of staghorn calculi has been stressed.