Inactivation of bacteria inoculated inside urinary stone-phantoms using intracorporeal lithotripters.

Intracorporeal lithotripsy is used to treat a high percentage of urinary calculi. Urinary calculi may contain bacteria, which might cause septicemia after lithotripsy; however, little is known about the effects of lithotripters on the viability of microorganisms inside renal calculi. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the bactericidal effect, and the potential effect on intra-bacterial protein release of four different intracorporeal lithotripters on Escherichia coli (E.

Percutaneous renal access: a simplified approach.

Purpose: To present a simplified surgical technique to access the kidney percutaneously with low exposure to radiation.

Material And Methods: This percutaneous approach to the kidney "creates" a plane of coincidence between the C-arm beam axis and the needle axis. Both axes always have the same angle running in opposite directions with the predetermined calix located in the medial vertical plane at 0 degrees.

In-Vivo relation between CT attenuation value and shockwave fragmentation.

Purpose: To use CT attenuation numbers as a means of determining the susceptibility of an artificial stone to in-vivo fragmentation with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL).

Materials And Methods: Four types of artificial kidney stones having different CT attenuation values were used. One randomly selected stone was implanted in the renal pelvis of a kidney of 12 young pigs and exposed in vivo to 2500 shockwaves (21 kV) using an electrohydraulic lithotripter.