Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy of caliceal diverticula calculi

We reviewed 10 patients with calculi in caliceal diverticula to determine whether they could be treated successfully by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Of the patients 7 required 1 and 3 required 2 treatment attempts to fragment the calculi completely. After a minimum followup of 3 months (mean 5.9 months) 2 patients (20 per cent) had passed successfully all of the stone fragments, while 3 (30 per cent) had passed more than half and 5 (50 per cent) had passed less than half of the fragments. Of the 8 patients with residual fragments only 3 had persistent symptoms indicating that symptom relief is not dependent on complete stone removal. The possibility of producing a satisfactory result (70 per cent free of symptoms) and the low morbidity of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy suggest that this treatment may be appropriate for calculi in caliceal diverticula.