Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy in renal calculi causing ureteral obstruction: report of 20 cases

From Dec. 1985 to July 1988, 2006 patients with renal calculi were treated with Zhongshan Hospital JT-ESWL-I and France EDAP machines. Post-treatment obstruction of ureteral street stones occurred in 20 patients (1% in this series) with large renal calculi: 10 cases occurred in the left ureter, whereas the others in the right. The length of street stones measured 3-22 cm. Among the 20 cases, 14 patients were cured by medicine, repeated ESWL, or/and endoscopical manipulation. Two patients with acute renal failure were completely free of ureteral stones after nephrostomy or placement of a ureteral catheter and irrigation. 2 patients are still under treatment. In addition, some factors of the formation, prevention and treatment of the ureteral street stones are discussed in this paper.