Bare naked baskets: Optimizing ureteroscopic stone extraction

Baskets placed through the working channels of flexible ureteroscopes limit mobility and irrigant flow. We describe a new technique to minimize these limitations. An unsheathed "bare naked" basket affords enhanced ureteroscopic efficacy by limiting obstruction of the working channel. We have used the technique clinically to treat stones in difficult locations successfully and to remove fragments of calculi after ureteroscopic lithotripsy. (C) 2002, Elsevier Science Inc.