Treatment of a gastric bezoar by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

A bezoar of the stomach was diagnosed by X-ray and endoscopy in an 8-year-old boy who presented with intermittent dull epigastric pain. Attempts at endoscopic extraction failed because of the size and hardness of the bezoar. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy was therefore applied using ultrasound to locate the bezoar. Disintegration of the bezoar and spontaneous evacuation of the fragments was achieved.