| Abstract: | We have been performing bile duct lithotripsy by EST at Kumamoto Regional Medical Center since January 1982. A balloon catheter is the method of choice for performing lithotripsy. For stone removal, a conventional FG-22Q basket catheter was used from January 1982 to June 1984 (extraction rate: 88.5%), and a prototype EML BML-1Q basket catheter was used with a FG-22Q basket catheter from July 1984 to April 1990 (extraction rate: 91.5%). Since May 1990, lithotripsy has been performed in the following sequence with excellent results (extraction rate: 97.0%): EST-balloon catheter, slide-type EML BML-3Q-balloon catheter. Although the difference between the extraction rates for BML-1Q and BML-3Q basket catheters were only marginally significant, the difference between the conventional basket FG-22Q and BML-3Q was clearly significant. Lithotomy using the procedure employed since May 1990 is therefore recommended as a highly effective means of extracting gallstones and is considered to be superior to conventional methods. |
