Extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy. Initial Australian experience.

Fifty patients were treated with extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy for upper urinary tract calculi. The procedure was performed by means of either epidural or general anaesthesia. There were minimal postoperative complications with a mean length of stay of 3.6 days. Six patients required a repeat extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy procedure for residual fragments during their initial admission to hospital. Forty (80%) patients were free of all stone fragments within one month of their discharge from hospital. Three patients have residual fragments of greater than 2 mm in axial length. The remainder underwent other procedures to remove residual stones or will be treated with further extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy therapy.