Effectiveness and safety of the Dornier compact lithotriptor: an evaluative multicenter study

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of the Dornier compact lithotriptor for management of renal stones.

We administered 191 treatments to 169 patients with renal stones on 176 occasions with the patient under combined parental sedation and analgesia. The Dornier Compact lithotriptor is mobile and ultrasound guided, and uses an electromagnetic energy source.

A total of 22 patients required a second treatment (13%), 123 (72.8%) were stone-free, 26 (15.4%) had fragments less than 4 mm. large, 16 (9.5%) had stone fragments larger than 4 mm, and 4 (2.4%) required auxiliary therapy (treatment failures). The side effects were mostly mild to moderate, with nausea and/or vomiting reported in 26 patients (14%), colic or pain in 66 (39%), ureteral obstruction in 2, steinstrasse in 7 (4%) and fever in 1. Our clinical results indicate that extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy was effective for treatment of stones in the kidney, with a low incidence of complications and adverse effects. The lithotriptor used is much smaller, less expensive and user friendly with no installation requirements, rendering it mobile.

The success rate with newer generation devices compares well with results obtained using other stationary and larger versions.