What is shock wave lithotripsy?
Shock Wave Lithotripsy (SWL) is the most common treatment for kidney stones in the U.S. Shock waves from outside the body are targeted at a kidney stone causing the stone to fragment. The stones are broken into tiny pieces. lt is sometimes called ESWL: Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy®. These are what the words mean: • extracorporeal: from outside the body • shock waves: pressure waves • lithotripsy (the Greek roots of this word are “litho” meaning stone, “tripsy” meaning crushed) So, SWL describes a nonsurgical technique for treating stones in the kidney or ureter (the tube going from the kidney to the bladder) using high-energy shock waves. Stones are broken into “stone dust” or fragments that are small enough to pass in urine.
