EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK-WAVE LITHOTRIPSY MONOTHERAPY OF STAGHORN CALCULIWITH DORNIER MFL 5000

A retrospective study was conducted of the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) monotherapy for the management of 31 pati ents with staghorn calculi (mean size 5.2 cm2) . Five patients were lo st to follow-up, 10 were stone-free in the end, and 11 had effective d isintegration with small residual fragments. The remaining five patien ts required open surgery because of insufficient stone fragmentation. According to our data, SWL monotherapy is not sufficient for achieving stone-free status in patients with staghorn calculi, but it relieves obstruction and decreases the stone bulk in the majority of them.