Management of painful caliceal stones by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy

One hundred and seven patients with caliceal stones causing flank pain were treated by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), followed up and reviewed. The total stone-free rate 3 months after ESWL was 38.8%. The total pain-free rate was 50.5%. The pain-free rate was 85% in the stone-free group and 29% in the group with residual stones. No significant differences between the stone-free rate and the duration of pain or age was noted. Patients with abnormal intravenous pyelography (IVP) had a lower stone-free rate than patients with normal IVP (16 vs. 45%, p less than 0.05). The complications included: 6 cases of stone street formation with spontaneous passage; 1 case of stone street formation needing percutaneous nephrolithotomy for drainage; 1 perirenal hematoma; 9 cases of severe colic pain following ESWL; 3 cases of fever following ESWL, and 4 cases of hydronephrosis due to a stone in the ureterovesicle junction. These results show that ESWL is an effective, noninvasive treatment for painful caliceal stones.