INFLUENCE OF LITHOTRIPSY ON KIDNEY-FUNCTI ON

Today, most stones can be removed by minimally invasive means. Extraco rporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) is the preferred form of treatme nt for symptomatic upper ureteral and renal calculi less than 2 cm a d iameter. The short and long term complications of ESWL are underestima ted. Thus, ESWL may cause renal trauma and such trauma may induce late r hypertension. In this retrospective study, we reviewed the frequency of deleterious effects of ESWL in 45 patients who had undergone ESWL from January 1988 to September 1989. Short-term complications were mac roscopic hematuria (15%), lumbar pain (11%) and peri- or intrarenal he matomas (4.4%). Two years later CT scan was performed in 20 patients. It was normal in 7 (35%). In others, it shown a recurrence of stone in 8 (40%) and a focal scarring in 5 (25%). Only 1 out of 43 patients ha d developped hypertension.