Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy of staghorn stones

One hundred forty-seven cases of staghorn calculi were treated with HM-3 Dornier lithotripter. The stone located at the right tract in 71, the left 65 and 11 bilaterally. Fifteen cases had stones larger than 6 cm in length, the biggest size was 11 cm in diameter. Majority of the patients in this group underwent multiple ESWL treatment. PCN was needed in only 4 cases. For safety reason, The interval between two ESWL treatment should be more than 1 week. All stones were completely fragmented and discharged no longer than 4 months. The overall procedural complications were relatively low and not severe. Hematuria occurred in all the patients, fever in 8.8% and pain in 12.2%. The results of this study indicate that the majority of staghorn stone could be treated satisfactory with ESWL.