Laser lithotripsy. The new stone age

1. Advancements in stone management focus on the ability to safely fragment urinary calculi into small pieces, permitting simple elimination or facilitating retrieval and extraction. 2. The coumarin pulsed dye laser offers a safe and minimally invasive alternative in the treatment of calculi not amenable to or safely treated by other fragmentation techniques. 3. No complications have been directly attributed to laser lithotripsy. 4. Understanding laser mechanics and the principles of laser photo-fragmentation will promote the safe and knowledgeable integration of this revolutionary technology into the perioperative care of patients with urolithiasis.