endourologist

— After a 1-month observation period that comprised approximately 20 cases who underwent PCNL procedures and scrubbing with an experienced endourologist during 5 operations as the first assistant, the fellow was allowed to perform solo PCNL. The novice surgeon’s results were compared with those from a random cohort of 15 consecutive PCNL procedures performed by the department’s senior surgeon during the study period, which formed a ninth group.