The first 19 patients have already been treated with a new non-invasive method - blast wave lithotripsy. Unlike similar methods of crushing kidney stones with sound, this one can be performed without anesthesia and operating rooms, right in the doctors' offices. The technology was developed at the University of Washington.
Kidney stones are a very common disease that affects up to 15% of people at one time or another in their lives. Small stones pass spontaneously and without surgery, but in some cases, surgery is required to prevent damage to the kidneys. For decades, surgeons have used sound waves to crush large stones using extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), high-intensity acoustic pulses. The procedure is painful and usually, the patient is given anesthesia during the procedure.
The new method differs from ESWL in that the therapy can be delivered in a less formal setting using a portable device, without the use of sedatives. Blast wave lithotripsy sends short, cyclic pulses of ultrasonic energy that break stones into small fragments no larger than 2 mm, writes New Atlas.
In the largest clinical trial to date, 19 patients underwent ultrasound therapy. In each of them, doctors destroyed three stones with a diameter of 12 mm or more. It took about 10 minutes for each stone. The effectiveness of the procedure was 90% of the total volume of stones, 39% completely disintegrated into fragments less than 2 mm, partial fragmentation was noted in 52% of cases.
Most of the remaining stones should pass without medical intervention, the researchers said. In addition, damage to the peripheral tissues of the kidneys as a result of the procedure turned out to be mild and treatable.
The method of painless removal of stones from the kidneys was reported a couple of years ago by US scientists. The combination of two already approved drugs relaxes the ureters, and then the stones pass painlessly. A similar mechanism can be used for procedures such as endoscopy.
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