REVIEW   Free access

Minerva Urologica e Nefrologica 2019 August;71(4):365-72

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-2249.19.03415-5

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy: current knowledge and future perspectives

Michele TALSO ¹ ✉, Tzevat TEFIK ², Guglielmo MANTICA ³, Moises RODRIGUEZ SOCARRAS ³, Ioannis KARTALAS GOUMAS ¹, Bhaskar K. SOMANI ⁴, Francesco ESPERTO ⁵

¹ Department of Urology, ASST Vimercate Hospital, Vimercate, Monza Brianza, Italy; ² Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey; ³ Department of Urology, San Raffaele Turro Hospital, San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; ⁴ Department of Urology, University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, Southampton, UK; ⁵ Department of Urology, Humanitas Gavezzeni Hospital, Bergamo, Italy

Over the last four decades, extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) has been used as an effective technique to treat kidney and ureteral stones. Nowadays, ESWL still plays a role in stone treatment and is a primary treatment option in different guidelines. New technologies are now available to endourologists, but this procedure remains valid. This narrative review will shortly illustrate the history of ESWL and its clinical applications, limits, and specific uses.

KEY WORDS: Lithotripsy; Kidney calculi; Ureteral calculi; Extracorporeal shockwave therapy