Pain-free Treatment Research Articles

Dornier MPL 9000: Urologic Use in an Interdisciplinary Stone Center*

After installation of the third-generation Dornier MPL 9000 multipurpose lithotripter at our center in January 1988, interdisciplinary treatment of both gallbladder and kidney stones has been possible. From April to August 1988, 146 patients suffering from 198 urinary calculi were treated using a modified ellipsoid with a larger skin-to-focus distance (130 versus 80 mm). The majority represented caliceal (61%) and renal pelvic (34%) stones; 23% of the calculi were radiolucent. Successful disintegration was achieved on 92%, including a retreatment rate of 5% and a crossover rate to the Dornier HM3 of 18%. In most cases (80%), pain-free treatment was possible without any kind of premedication and anesthesia; intravenous analgesia was necessary in 17%. Ketamine or epidural anesthesia was used in selected cases only (i.e., children, patients with impacted calculi). The combined use of the Dornier MPL 9000 and the HM3 provides the maximal range of indications and patient through-put for interdisciplinary ESWL.