Results of one and two year follow-up in a clinical comparison of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy in the treatment of renal calculi.

The results of 12 and 24 month follow-up of two groups of similar patients with renal and ureteric calculi treated by percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCN) and related techniques versus first generation, Dornier extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) alone or in combination with PCN and/or endoscopy indicated few major differences in the side-effects (complications, readmissions, further procedures) of the two approaches to renal stone treatment up to two years from treatment. However, PCN patients exhibited consistently higher rates of stone clearance whether this was measured cross-sectionally or cumulatively. The higher prevalence of retained fragments in the ESWL group indicates the importance of long-term monitoring of both groups to discover whether there are any significant differences in stone growth and retreatment rates associated with the observed difference in stone-free rates.