Radiation exposure during percutaneous nephrolithotomy; Is there a risk of the patient and the operating team?

Background: the aim of this study was to calculate the radiation amount exposedduring percutaneous nephrolithototomy (pcnl) and to make the urologists andother staff sensitive about the radiation risk they were exposed to. materials andmethods: we measured the radiation exposure during 114 cases of pcnlperformed. thermoluminescent dosimeters (tld) were placed between theoperation table and the patient at the location of kidney and gonads of patients tomeasure the radiation exposure of patients. tld were placed at the head, neck,finger and the legs of the operating surgeon to measure the occupational exposureof the urologist. and also two dosimeters were placed to the inner wall of theoperating room and two dosimeters were placed to the hall. results: the meanfluoroscopy screening time was 2.18 minutes (0.15 - 6.12) and the meanoperation time was 49 minutes (10-150). the mean radiation exposure forpatients was 1.307 milisievert (msv) at kidney location and 0.562 msv atgonad location per procedure. surgeon exposure was 0.021 and 0.003 msvper procedure for hand and leg, respectively. radiation amounts exposedinside the room and by the surgeon were statistically significantly lower thanmeasured radiation results compared to patient kidney. conclusion:according to our findings radiation exposure of the patient and the surgeon isbelow the annual occupational dose limit recommendations. however, forprotecting from stochastic effects of radiation, fluoroscopy should be used as low aspossible and lead aprons and thyroid shields must be worn to minimize theradiation exposure.