Pneumatic lithotripsy versus laser lithotripsy in the endoscopic treatment of ureteral calculi.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the efficacy, safety, and features of pneumatic lithotripsy (PL) with those of laser lithotripsy (LL) and present our clinical experience in the endoscopic management of ureteral calculi.


METHODS
From August 1994 to February 2000, 285 consecutive patients underwent endoscopic lithotripsy with either the Swiss Lithoclast pneumatic lithotripter (145 patients) or the Ho:YAG laser lithotripter (140 patients) for the treatment of ureteral calculi.


RESULTS
In one single session, the overall successful stone fragmentation rate of LL was higher than that of PL (95.7% v 69.7%; P < 0.01). The average time to stone-free status was shorter for LL than for PL (18 days v 31 days; P < 0.01). No major complications were observed in LL, while five ureteral perforations were encountered in PL.


CONCLUSIONS
Laser lithotripsy has advantages over PL in high efficiency of stone fragmentation and a low complication rate. Laser lithotripsy is a powerful, effective, and safe treatment modality for ureteral calculi.
Sun
Y
Y
Department of Urology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, China. sunyinh@online.sh.cn
Wang
L
L
Liao
G
G
Xu
C
C
Gao
X
X
Yang
Q
Q
Qian
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000388:Air; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008096:Lithotripsy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D017602:Lithotripsy, Laser; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014513:Ureter / Q000293:injuries; D014514:Ureteral Calculi / Q000628:therapy*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000209:etiology