Between August 1995 and March 1997, 197 patients underwent 257 treatments for 217 stones by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) using a Lithodiagnost M (Philips, Holland). There were 149 males and 48 females with an average age of 50.6 years, ranging from 15 to 85 years. There were 53 stones located in the renal pelvis and calices (R2), 20 stones at the pelvi-ureteric junction (PUJ) (R3), 101 stones in the upper ureter (U1), 15 stones in the middle ureter (U2) and 28 stones in the lower ureter (U3). The average number of sessions was 1.18 and the average number of shock waves per stone was 3,546. Efficacy was evaluated 3 months after the final ESWL. The success rate was 95.4% (207/217), with complete disappearance of stones in 71.4% (155/217) and residual stones of less than 4 mm diameter in 24% (52/217). No severe complications, except for subcapsular renal hematoma in one patient, were observed. These results indicate that almost all upper urinary tract stones can be successfully treated by ESWL monotherapy.
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