[Clinical application of compact ESWL (Direx Tripter X-1)]

Clinical trials using Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripter (Tripter X-1) were performed on 30 cases for upper urinary tract calculi (16 cases: renal stone, 14 cases: ureter stone) with one trial per individual case from December, 1988 till February 1989. The fragmentation rate of 100% resulted. One month after treatment, evaluation on the X-ray film showed that 10 cases (33%) were found to be excellent where stone silhouette was no more observed. Effective cases where residual stone having dimension of below 5mm counted 10 (33%), and clinically effective rate, sum of both excellent and effective rates was 67 percent. Effective rate was 75 percent in case of kidney stone, and 57 percent in case of ureter stone respectively. Side effects of visual hematuria, skin ecchymosis and fever were observed, yet none of them was of serious grade, and post operative changes in blood chemistry were mild and transient. No remarkable side effects due to radiation exposure were observed. We concluded therefore that Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy by this system is an effective therapy for upper urinary tract stones.