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To evaluate whether extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) offers an effective treatment for the main complications of Peyronie's disease (PD), that is, penile deformity and angulation, painful erection and most importantly unsatisfied sexual intercourse. From September 1999 to January 2001, 52 patients with PD were treated with ESWT. Pain during erection was assessed with a visual analogue scale. Penile deviation was determined by photographs with a goniometer. Five treatment sessions were performed at weekly intervals. Each consisted of 3000 shockwaves with an emission frequency of 120 shockwaves/min and a mean intensity of 0.17 mJ/mm(2). A Storz Minilith SL 1 with integrated inline ultrasound probe was used. In all, 52 patients were evaluated 6 weeks after ESWT for early follow-up. Before ESWT intercourse was difficult or impossible for 40 men; 29 patients suffered mainly from penile deformity, 14 from painful erection and eight mainly from loss of distal rigidity. A total of 30 patients mentioned painful erection before treatment. In 28 patients (93%) pain reduction was achieved. A total relief of pain was observed in 19 patients (63%). Mean pain score dropped from 4.2 to 1.3 in patients who suffered predominantly from painful erections. Intercourse satisfaction improved in 11 patients after therapy. Mean angulation before (40 degrees ) and after (37 degrees ) ESWT did not change significantly. Late follow-up after 11.1 months (4-17 months) could be completed in 36 patients. In total, 19 men reported that ESWT improved their PD. Of these, 16 noted no change. Only one of the patients noticed a worsening of his disease during or after treatment. Complication rate was low with only minor side effects such as minimal skin bruising; one urethral bleeding occurred. ESWT did reduce pain during erection in patients suffering mainly from painful erection due to PD. However, penile angulation did not improve significantly in our setup and thus intercourse difficulties did improve only in 28% of the patients. Therefore, we do not recommend ESWT as a primary treatment for PD.

Extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) has rapidly become established worldwide as a routine method for treatment of nephro- and ureterolithiasis. Although initial studies showed no tissue-damaging effect by the shock waves, we found, in an animal experiment using canine kidneys, that the ESWL-induced damage to the renal parenchyma is more marked than originally assumed. The damage is limited to the area that was focused on, and heals relatively rapidly by connective tissue encapsulation with final cicatrisation without any further residual effects being observed up to the present. This parenchymal damage is probably also the cause of the macrohematuria that is always observed during therapy. The resulting tissue damage is not extensive enough to cause a demonstrable reduction of function as measured by the usual methods (serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, isotopy renography, i.v. urography). In serum we observed a transient decrease of calcium, an immediate increase of lactate-dehydrogenase, transaminases (SGOT and SGPT) and a delayed increase of alkaline phosphates. Creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, sodium, potassium and amylase remained within normal limits. In urine, a decrease of creatinine and an increase of glucose excretion were noted. We believe that these changes represent a relatively mild and transient damage of renal cells and do not reflect the occasionally heavy morphological changes observed after shock-wave exposure. The main clinical complication is the large subcapsular hematoma which, according to the present knowledge, could well result from a lesion of the larger peripheral vessels. Damage to other organs such as subserous colonic and small bowel hematomata are to be expected although they do not lead to clinical symptoms.

Urolithiasis has always been a well known phenomenon to mankind. Whereas up to the beginning of the 19th century, open surgery for bladder stones was known to be a high risk operation due to its frequent complications, nowadays we are able to disintegrate renal and vesical calculi into spontaneously excretable fragments by means of shock waves generated extracorporeally (ESWL). The physical principles of shock waves and their impact on the stone are explained. By means of ESWL the time of hospitalisation as well as of recovery can be massively reduced saving billions to our economy.

From 1982 to December 1987, 71 with incomplete (C4 by Rocco) and 37 with complete (C5 by Rocco) staghorn calculi underwent anatrophic nephrolithotomy (AN; n = 29), or combined percutaneous nephrostolithotomy and ESWL (PCNL + ESWL; n = 21), or ESWL monotherapy without or with preoperative JJ stenting (n = 37/21). The patients with incomplete staghorn calculi (C4) and preoperative ureteral stenting were free of stones after 6 months in 15 of 17 cases (88%), which is comparable to our results with AN (90%) and combined PCNL + ESWL (85%). ESWL without JJ stenting were free of stones in only 52%. The treatment of infected C4 calculi with JJ stenting was especially successful (92%). Complete staghorn calculi (C5) represented the best results after AN (78%) and combined PCNL + ESWL (75%), in contrast to ESWL without JJ stenting (44%). Four patients with C5 calculi were treated with ESWL and preoperative stenting, three of them were free of stones after 6 months. For incomplete staghorn calculi (C4), ESWL monotherapy with JJ stenting seems to be a justifiable noninvasive method which offers excellent results in stone elimination (88%), with lower costs than AN or PCNL + ESWL. More invasive procedures should be reserved for complete staghorn calculi.

Ten patients with common bile duct stones not removable by endoscopic measures after sphincterotomy were treated by extracorporeally generated shock waves. In 9 patients stones up to 30 mm in diameter were disintegrated. Two patients became free of stone fragments spontaneously within one day and in 7 patients the stone fragments were extracted endoscopically. No complications occurred. Extracorporal shock wave treatment represents a promising alternative to surgery in cases where common bile duct stones cannot be extracted endoscopically.

From May 1985 to February 1988, 61 patients with renal staghorn calculi (41 with incomplete C4 and 20 with complete C5 lesions) underwent extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy monotherapy. Of the patients 37 were treated without preoperative Double-J* stenting, while 24 underwent Double-J stenting before extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Of the patients with incomplete staghorn calculi (C4) and a preoperative ureteral stent 85% were free of stones after 6 months in contrast to only 52.4% of those without a stent and 85.7% of those with infected C4 calculi who underwent preoperative stenting. Hospitalization decreased from 17.7 days in patients without a stent to 14.2 days after stenting, followed by the number of auxiliary procedures (nephrostomy, Zeiss loop and ureteroscopy) and postoperative complications. Complete staghorn calculi (C5) without a preoperative stent had the smallest success rate of stone elimination: only 43.7% of the patients were free of stones after 6 months with a rehospitalization rate of 62.5%. For incomplete staghorn renal calculi (C4) extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy monotherapy with a preoperative Double-J stent is the noninvasive method that offers excellent stone elimination (85%), comparable to the results of percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (with or without complementary extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy) and anatrophic nephrolithotomy.

Extracorporal shock wave lithotripsy has rapidly become established world wide as a routine method for treatment of nephro- and ureterolithiasis. Although initial studies showed no tissue damaging effect by the shock waves, we found in an animal experiment using canine kidneys, the ESWL induced damage to the renal parenchyma is more marked than originally assumed. The damage is limited to the area that was focused on, and heals relatively rapidly by connective tissue encapsulation with final cicatrisation without any further residual effects being observed until now. This parenchymal damage is probably also the cause of the macrohaematuria that is always observed during therapy. The resulting tissue damage is not extensive enough to cause demonstrable reduction of function as measured by the usual methods (serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, isotopy renography, i/v-urography). The main clinical complication is the large subcapsular haematoma which, according to present knowledge, could well result from a lesion of the larger peripheral vessels. Damage to other organs such as subserous colonic and small bowel haematomata are to be expected although they do not lead to clinical symptoms.

From April 1985 to March 1987 181 patients with ureteral stones were treated by means of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). Management for proximal calculi changed from in situ ESWL treatment (group n = 27) or placement of a ureteral catheter below calculi (group II, n = 30) to retrograde stone manipulation into renal pelvis (group IV, n = 52) or ESWL treatment under intraoperative irrigation of saline in cases where repositioning failed (group III, n = 50). The best stone-free rate for upper ureteral stones was obtained in group IV with 96% after 6 weeks, presenting also the shortest hospital stay (4.2 days) and lowest quota of postoperative auxiliary procedures (2%). Stones, not being dislodged into renal pelvis (49%), could be treated successfully in 86% by irrigation with saline during ESWL (group III). The stone-free rate decreased in patients with in situ treatment (group I: 67%) or ureteral catheter placement (group II: 83%). Treatment of these stones increased the need of postoperative ancillary procedures to approximately 30%. For distal ureteral stones ESWL and preoperative Zeiss placement achieved a stone-free rate of 95%.