[Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy of gallbladder calculi]

Shockwave disintegration of gallbladder stones with lythic therapy of residual fragments is successful when all criteria of patient- and stone-selection, shockwave application and lysis are fulfilled. The "Four-S-stones" proved to be the best candidates: solitary, symptomatic, sonolucent in a sufficiently contractile gallbladder. The rate of complications is low. Stone recurrence rate (10 to 15% after three years) is much lower as in previous studies using lythic therapy only. The new therapeutic approach to gallbladder stone disease with fragmentation, spontaneous fragment-clearance and lysis of residual fragments is--as the only truly non-invasive procedure--for 10 to 20% of the patients an alternative equal to operation.