Effects of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy on the Female Reproduction Tract

Abstract

The treatment of kidney stones with ESWL was at first directed at concretions in the upper urinary tract. Now, however, its use has been successfully extended to include the area of the distal ureter (Miller et al. 1986; McCullough et al. 1986). It has been established both clinically and experimentally that ESWL can be followed by renal parenchymal damage such as intra- or perirenal hematomas (Kaude et al. 1985; Jaeger et al. 1988; Recker et al. 1989). Short-term hematuria can be seen in all patients. The question whether ESWL in the small pelvis also leads to traumatisation of the female adnexae is of particular importance to female patients. In animal experiments we aimed to establish the short- and the long-term effect of shock waves on the morphology of the ovary, both by conventional light microscopy and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).