Treatment of urinary calculi with ureteroscopy and Swiss Lithoclast pneumatic lithotripter: Report of 150 cases

Purpose: To present our clinic experience with the Swiss Lithoclast pneumat ic lithotripter in the endoscopic management of urinary calculi. Patients and Methods: From August 1994 to December 1997, 145 patients with ureteral calculi and 5 patients with urethral calculi were treated with the Swiss Lithoclast. Results: In the ureteral stone group, ureteroscopic addressing of the stone s was successful in 133 patients, In 27 patients, the stones were partially fragmented and remained in situ or were pushed back to the calices, They w ere subsequently treated successfully with SWL. Stones were fragmented in a single session in 101 cases. Complications associated with the procedure i ncluded five perforations and four urinary tract infections. All of the fiv e urethral stone patients were treated successfully with pneumatic lithotri psy, The overall successful fragmentation rate thus was 70.7% (106 of 150) and 88.7% (133 of 150) in combination with adjuvant SWL. Conclusions: We have found Swiss Lithoclast pneumatic lithotripsy to be a s afe, effective, and economical treatment method for urinary calculi, If com bined with other modalities such as SWL, this treatment will be even more e ffective.