[Experience with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy based on 5 years' clinical use].

After 6 years of experimental research at the Departments of Urology and Surgical Research of the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) was introduced into clinical use in 1980. Uniquely successful and increasingly requested by stone patients, the method soon became widespread. Currently more than 70 lithotriptors are in operation worldwide and over 30,000 treatments have been carried out successfully. Clinical experience in all centers has proved the safety, reliability and reproducibility of the method. Currently, approximately 70% of nonselected stone patients are eligible to receive ESWL treatment and, when combined with endourological procedures, more than 95% of patients can benefit from this method and thus avoid open surgery.