[Extracorporeal lithotripsy in children. Report of 30 cases].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of extracorporeal lithotripsy in the treatment of urinary stones in children.

Material And Method: Thirty children (19 boys, 11 girls) with a mean age of 7 years (range: 14 months to 17 years) with a total of 32 urinary stones were treated by extracorporeal lithotripsy. The stone was situated in the kidney in 27 cases, the lumbar ureter in 4 cases and the pelvic ureter in 1 case. 19 patients had single stones, 9 patients had multiple pyelocaliceal stones and 3 had staghorn calculi.

Results: General anaesthesia was performed in 2/3 of cases (age < 10 years). The mean number of treatment sessions was 1.3. The success rate (absence of residual fragments) was 77%, while residual fragments < or = 3 mm persisted in 4 cases. There were 3 failures. Complications occurred in 3 cases: ureteric obstruction (2), anuria (1) requiring complementary treatment: double J stent (1), nephrostomy (1), incision of ureterocele (1).

Conclusion: Extracorporeal lithotripsy is effective in children and must be considered as first-line treatment for urinary stones in children. The only contraindication is untreated obstructive uropathy.