[Endourology--minimal invasive surgery. I]

There has never been a century in which treatment strategies in urology have changed as quickly. In parallel with the worldwide acknowledgement of extracorporeal lithotripsy as a German development, the surgical and endoscopic accomplishments of German urologists have also placed them in a leading position. In turn, this has led to an extended definition of endourology. This paper deals with endoscopic and percutaneous procedures and not with stone treatment. The author shows the extent to which other specialties have been influenced by this purely urological development and how it has stimulated the development of minimal invasive surgical procedures in other disciplines as well. In other disciplines, it is necessary to specialize in these minimal invasive surgical procedures, but the knowledge and experience of the urologist allows immediate application. Therefore, our discipline is ready for modern urosurgery, including the whole range of minimal invasive surgery.