The Innovex RS Delivery Catheter as a Single-Platform Endoscopic System for Upper Urinary Tract Intervention: A Two-Case Report of Upper Ureteral Lithotripsy and Ablation of a Suspected Renal Pelvis Urothelial Lesion

Background

Conventional upper urinary tract endoscopy requires two instruments—a rigid ureteroscope for initial access and a flexible ureteroscope for intraluminal treatment—resulting in intraoperative scope exchange and dual-tower dependency. The Innovex RS delivery catheter is a rigid stainless-steel sheath that enables a single-use 7.5 Fr flexible ureteroscope to function in both rigid and flexible operative modes from one platform. To our knowledge this is the first report of a rigid-delivery sheath system used as the sole endoscopic instrument across two distinct upper urinary tract indications, and the first describing its use for ablation of a renal pelvis lesion. Cases: Two patients underwent upper urinary tract endoscopy using the RS catheter as the sole instrument: a 53-year-old male with a 12 mm impacted proximal ureteral stone (holmium:YAG lithotripsy), and a 76-year-old female with a 10 mm renal pelvis filling defect, radiologically suspected to represent urothelial pathology on the basis of CT attenuation, who underwent cold-cup biopsy followed by thulium:YAG ablation. No rigid ureteroscope, tower switching, or fluoroscopic guidance was used in either case; this reflected operator judgement rather than any intrinsic capability of the device.