Biliary extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy.

Biliary extracorporeal lithotripsy has been considered one of the alternatives to surgery for the treatment of gallstones in the bile ducts and in the gallbladder. Although this technique can fragment almost all gallstones, the clinical effectiveness of this new treatment modality must be measured by successful elimination of all fragments. Some physical principles, stone targeting, patient protocol, complications, and clinical results are presented.