EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK WAVE LITHOTRIPSY IN TREATMENT OF PEDIATRIC UROLITHIASIS

Abstract

The paper presents the experiences in the treatment of urinary tract calculosis in 114 children aged 6 months to 14 years by means of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).The treatment was performed at the Institute of Radiology and the Clinic for Pediatric Surgery and Orthopedics in Nis, in the period 1988-2000 on Siemens Litostar lithotriptor. The children were treated after clinical, laboratory and radiological preparation, provided that the stone was not greater than 3 cm (measured in native urinary tract graph) and that it was not located in the pelvic part of the ureter. In the present study, the success in application of ESWL for treating pediatric patients was 88%. The total clearance of fragments was found in 57% of patients, whereas retention of fragments smaller than 4 mm three months after the last treatment was present in 31% of patients. ESWL treatment failed in 12% of patients since they had retained fragments greater than 4 mm.The authors recommend this method as a method of choice in the treatment of renal and urethral calculi in children.

Keywords

• extracorporeal shockwave lithototripsy
• urolithiasis
• complications