Stone disintegration: effect of shock wave projection and electrode age on this parameter in a standard stone model.

Despite the real effectiveness and successful results of shock wave application, the effect of some varying parameters, namely number of shock wave (SW) electrical discharge value (kV), projection of the shock waves and electrode age are still to be evaluated. By using a standard stone model, we evaluated the real effect of the projection of shock waves and electrode age on the degree of stone disintegration. Our results indicated no significant relationship between the kV value and the degree of stone disintegration. However, as the number of SW increased, the rate of disintegration became evident. On the other hand, application of the same number of SW from two different angles revealed more effective disintegration rate on standard stone model. Thus SW number, age of the electrode and the projection of shock waves seemed to be important in the disintegration of the stones.