Abstract
Lithotripsy in 77 patients, and the therapeutic results were studied in reference to the results of pre-treatment examinations. The echo patterns after fragmentation could be classified into the floating type of microfragments, sediment type of small fragments and sediment type of large fragments. The floating type of microfragments showed a significantly higher rate of disappearance. The Ia type of gallstones in the echo pattern often presented the floating type of microfragments after fragmentation, showing a significantly higher disappearance rate compared with other types. The disappearance rate was significantly higher in gallstones with the diameters of 20 mm or less. In the features with CT scan, gallstones showing patterns of lower density tended to show higher disappearance rates.
There were some cases in which mild abdominal pain considered concomitant with excretion of fragments was noticed several hours after the treatment. This finding suggested that spontaneous excretion of fragments would occur relatively early. If a state of sufficient fragmentation is obtained, the disappearance of gallstones can be occur relatively early. If a state of sufficient fragmentation is obtained, the disappearance of gallstones can be fragmentation may cause complications such as cholecystitis. Therefore, a careful study of the results of pre treatment examinations is needed.
