Iliac arteries injury secondary to extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: a case report

The authors report a case of a 40-year-old woman who developed claudication of the right limb 3 months after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) owing to a pyelic calculus. Patient had no previous vascular disease. Arteriography revealed a 12-cm-long 80% stenosis of the right common, external, and internal iliac arteries; the rest of the arterial tree had no detectable pathology. Arterial complications related to ESWL have been reported before in patients with aortic aneurysms or very intense calcifications. To the authors' knowledge this is the first report of ESWL-induced injury in a patient without previous arterial pathology.