SWL in Lower Calyceal Calculi: Evaluation of the Treatment Results in Children and Adults

ObjectiveTo evaluate the treatment parameters of shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) in lower calyceal calculi in adults and children in a comparative manner.Material and MethodsBetween 2006 and 2011, SWL was performed for lower calyceal calculi in 282 adults (mean age 48.5 years, range 28-64) and 54 children (mean age 48 months, range 5-141). The Wolf Piezolith 3000 lithotriptor has been used for SWL. Success rates, auxiliary procedures, additional interventions, and complications were evaluated in detail in a comparative manner.ResultsMean stone size was 7.7 mm (range 5-25) and 8.1 mm (range 5-23) in children and in adults, respectively. Mean SWL sessions were 1.5 (range 1-5) in children and 2.4 (range 1-6) in adults. Although 66.6% of children were stone-free after the first session, 28% of adult patients were stone-free after the first SWL session, showing a statistically significant difference (P = .0001). After the treatments, although a complete stone-free status was obtained in 85% of children, 31.5% of adults were stone-free at 3-month follow-up after SWL (P = .0001). Although no auxiliary procedures were needed in children, 8.2% of adults required them. Likewise, the percentage of additional procedures were higher in adults than children (20.2%).ConclusionSWL for lower calyceal calculi has been found to be highly successful in pediatric patients. These results demonstrate that, irrespective of stone size, SWL should be the first treatment alternative in the management of lower calyx stones in children.