Extracorporeal lithotripsy Tunisia, what is it?
Extracorporeal lithotripsy is a technique of lithotripsy which consists in removing in fragments the stones (kidney or biliary) by means of ultrasonic shock waves. On a regional level, this technique exists exclusively at our clinic.
The Clinic of the Center is equipped with an extracorporeal lithotripsy machine of the Siemens uro II brand.
The ultrasound "shock waves" are directed to the calculus at a fixed point previously identified by a pelvic or abdominal X-ray, by a renal ultrasound, or guided directly by radioscopy and/or ultrasound depending on the location of the calculus and its calcium content.
The mode of action of ultrasound is explained by the phenomenon of cavitation. It is the implosion of vapour bubbles created by ultrasound in the vicinity or within the stones that is the cause of their destruction.
Because the fragmentation is carried out through the skin by an ultrasound generator (the lithotripter or lithotripter) located outside the body, surgical intervention is avoided, even if the procedure is performed in a surgical environment in the operating room. The production of the shock wave can be done by a piezoelectric crystal, by an electrohydraulic effect, or by an electromagnetic field.
Following the operation, the fine debris obtained from the disintegration of the stone(s) is evacuated through natural channels: in the case of kidney stones, through the urine in a more or less painful way, resembling renal colic or, in the case of gallstones, through the digestive tract and the stool, with the eventual pain resembling hepatic colic.
A technique derived from the fragmentation of calcifications, radial shock wave treatment, is used in rheumatology in cases of tendonitis.