Extra-Corporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy

This involves the administration of external shock wave which is transmitted through the body to break urinary tract stones into fragments small enough to pass spontaneously through the urinary track out of the body.

The patient is positioned on the therapy table.  The stone is targeted either by X-ray and/or ultrasound.  Shock wave is then generated from the therapy head and focused onto the stone to break it into small fragments.

During the procedure, doctor will use intravenous pain-killers or other relevant medicine to reduce patient's discomfort.  General anaesthesia is usually not required.

Result

• For those stones considered suitable for ESWL, more than 90% of the stone(s) will become fragmented after signle therapy. 

• There is no guarantee that stone(s) treated by ESWL will be fragmented, and there is no guarantee that the fragmented stones will be passed out from the body spontaneously.

• For stones sucessfully fragmented by ESWL, stones fragments will out spontaneously within a few days to weeks .