Abstract:Objective To investigate the clinical effect of flexible ureteroscopy combined with flexible terminal suction ureteral access sheath (FTS-UAS) in the treatment of kidney stones.Methods The clinical data of 94 patients with kidney stones admitted to the Department of Urology in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 2022 to August 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into the control group (n = 50, flexible ureteroscopy combined with conventional sheath) and the observation group (n = 44, flexible ureteroscopy combined with FTS-UAS) according to different surgical procedures. The stone clearance rates 1 day, 3 days and 4 weeks after the operation were observed in the two groups, and surgery-related indicators, VAS scores, complications and recovery were statistically analyzed.Results The stone clearance rates 1 day, 3 days and 4 weeks after the operation in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05), and the stone clearance rate 4 weeks after the operation was higher than that 1 day after the operation (P < 0.05). There was no difference in the operative duration, intraoperative blood loss or hemoglobin reduction between the two groups (P > 0.05). The difference of VAS scores before and 1 day after surgery in the observation group was higher than that in the control group. The overall incidence of complications was not different between the observation group and the control group (P > 0.05). The complications in the two groups were all of grade I as assessed via the Clavien-Dindo classification. The duration of postoperative hematuria was shorter in the observation group compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05). The differences in the length of hospital stays and hospitalization costs between the two groups were not statistically significant (P > 0.05).Conclusions Flexible ureteroscopy combined with FTS-UAS has a higher stone clearance rate in the treatment of kidney stones, and reduces the degree of pain without increasing the incidence of complications.