[Controversies on extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy]. / Controversias en la litotricia extracorpórea por ondas de choque.

We analyzed our experience in 3,000 patients submitted to ESWL. Patient age ranged from 6-92 years. Stone size was 1 cm. in 33.2%, 1-3 cm. in 43.8%, and 23% had incomplete or complete staghorns. Following treatment 83.2% were stone-free, 13.1% had stone fragments that could be passed spontaneously, 3.4% had fragments larger than 4 mm., and 0.3% were submitted to surgery because attempts at stone fragmentation had failed. Our results show that indication of ESWL may be questionable in renal anomalies (horseshoe kidney, caliceal diverticulum, pyeloureteric stricture, urinary diversion), in some cases of lithiasis (cystine stone, infundibular lithiasis, staghorn or ureteral calculi) and in some patients (para and tetraplegics and those with solitary kidneys).