Postanesthesia care of the biliary lithotripsy patient

Alabama Lithotripsy Services is a consortium of Baptist Medical Centers in Birmingham, Montclair, and Princeton, Druid City Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, and Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, AL. This consortium is the first of two mobile lithotripsy services currently involved in the Food and Drug Administration investigational study using the Medstone (Medstone International, Inc, Irvine, CA) STS Lithotripter in the treatment of biliary gallstones. This procedure is a safe and effective alternative to abdominal surgery. Postanesthesia nurses need to know the population and criteria for selecting patients, how the lithotripter operates, postanesthesia care, possible complications, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as the future consideration of biliary lithotripsy using the Medstone STS Biliary Lithotripter.