Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy Using Swiss Lithoclast for Treatment of Ureteral Calculi: 12-Years Experience

Ureteroscopic lithotripsy using Swiss Lithoclast was performed in 411 cases from January 1996 to September 2007 in a single hospital. Medical records of 341 cases, in which Swiss Lithoclast was successfully applied, were available for this retrospective study. We used 9.5Fr and 10Fr Storz rigid ureteroscopes. A success was defined as being free of stone-related symptoms and residual stones larger than 2 mm. Sixty one stones were located in the upper ureter, 49 stones were in the mid ureter, and 231 stones were in the lower ureter. The overall success rate was 93.5%. The success rate of upper ureter stone (80.3%) was significantly lower compared with those of mid (93.8%) and lower (96.9%) ureter stones (P=0.001). The higher the calculi was located within the ureter, the more chance of upward migration there was (P<0.001). The success rate in male patients was lower than in female patients without a statistical significance (P=0.068). The success rate decreased as the size of the stone increased (P<0.001), and as the degree of hydronephrosis increased (P=0.03). Perforation rates were 4.9%, 4.1%, and 2.6% from upper to lower ureter stone group. Ureteroscopic lithotripsy using Swiss Lithoclast is a safe and useful treatment modality for ureteral calculi.