Assessment Of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy In Sweden PDF Download

Since the introduction of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) for treatment of kidney stones 1980 the technology has developed greatly and has been applied in new areas such as the treatment of uteral stones, biliary, pancreatic, and salivary stones. To understand the variety of treatment alternatives it is important to be aware of the fact that there are a great number of different ESWL systems with different ways of creating the shock waves (spark-gab, piezoelectric, and electromagnetic). In this paper we will pay attention to a few issues of current interest for extracorporeal shock wave treatment of renal and biliary stones. We have had to simplify and limit some of the descriptions of the situation in Sweden and our own experiences of ESWL treatment in Linkoeping. A brief summary of early results of ESWL for biliary stones is included. Economic and organizational consequences of ESWL are taken up. An attempt is made to assess the spread of ESWL in Sweden. Finally, some proposals for further assessment studies and research are outlined. After ten years ̀use, ESWL has become a standard procedure for treatment of concrements in the urinary tract, and has largely replaced both open and percutaneous surgery. There are, however, differences in the way new ways of managing renal stones have spread in different countries and the use of ESWL varies considerably.