Two-year Experiences of Ureteral Stones: SWL Versus Ureteroscopic Manipulation

Park, Minsu; Park, Hyungkeun; Park, Taehan

Abstract

PURPOSE: Shockwave lithotripsy(SWL) and ureteroscopic manipulation became the standard treatments for ureteral stones in recent years. There still exists significant debate as to the most appropriate treatment modality for ureteral stone management.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
From January 1994 to December 1995, 651 patients of ureteral stones were treated and 589 patients were retrospectively reviewed excluding 62 patients for incomplete follow ups. Four hundred and forty-two patients were treated with SWL using MPL 9000 with ultrasonic guidance, 115 patients with ureteroscopic manipulation using 7.9 to 11.5Fr rigid and semirigid ureteroscopes.
RESULTS
In SWL treatments, overall stone free rate was 74.7% with one session, Stone free rate was significantly affected by the size of stones. Stone free rate was 83.6% when the stone was smaller than 1.0cm and 42.1% when the stone was larger than 1.0cm Stone free rate after second SWL session was 84.4% and 90.3% after third session. The stone free rates according to the site of stones were 72.4(proximal), 70.0(mid), 80.2(distal), respectively. In ureteroscopic manipulation, overall stone free rate of 87.8% was obtained regardless of the size of stones. The success rates according to the location of stones were 75.0(proximal), 94.6(mid), 86.4%(distal), respectively. Open ureterolithotomy was performed in 32 patients with 100% success rate.
CONCLUSIONS
In our study, the size of stones was the most important factor influencing the success rate of SWL treatment for ureteral stones. We consider ureteroscopic manipulation as the first line treatment modality when the stone is larger than 1.0cm, especially in distal ureter, Proper selection of patients for in situ SWL or ureteroscopy would improve the results of initial treatment.