MATERIALS AND METHODS: A customized web-based 28 items questionnaire was created. All participation was voluntary. The survey was hosted on Google Forms between 15th November 2023 and 25th November 2023. Descriptive statistics were applied to demographic details and categorical responses.
RESULTS: 632 responses were received. 56.5% were from Asia. 41.6% of respondents underwent an endourology fellowship. Personal experience of suction for PCNL was noted in 55.4% and 42.7% for RIRS. 34.9% believe that currently there is enough evidence that suction can improve stone free rates and lower complications for both endourology surgeries. 55.69% believe that as evidence evolves, suction has the potential to be a game changer in endourology management of urolithiasis. 55.7% believe that the leading barrier to the adoption of suction in endourology is the lack of availability of technology. Other barriers include lack of procedural standardization (37.65%), lack of evidence (34.9%), lack of proper training (29.58%) and lack of advocation in the current guidelines (17.72%).
CONCLUSION: Our survey shows that urologists are keen to adopt suction for PCNL and RIRS but the lack of definitive evidence, standardization, equipment availability and training preclude them from using so. More high-level evidence regarding the utility of suction in endourology is required for its routine adoption in clinical practice.