What is ESWL treatment for urinary tract stones?
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) is the least invasive technique commonly used for treatment of urolithiasis when possible (depending on stone location, stone dimension and patient medical condition). This non-surgical procedure using shock waves, developed in the mid-1980’s, fragments stones into small pieces which pass spontaneously several days or weeks later from the kidney and bladder in most patients. Extracorporeal Lithotripsy is a non-invasive procedure that uses sophisticated technology combining X-ray, ultrasound, and acoustic shock waves to diagnose and disintegrate urinary stones. The patient is comfortably positioned on a table and after localization through X-ray or ultrasound the stone is targeted by a series of shock waves generated outside of the body. Shock waves travel through water and are focused on the stone for an accurate disintegration.
