@jon-nyc said in Lithotripsy:
George - what happens to the calcium bits that get dislodged? Filtered in the kidneys? Any risk of large pieces doing damage either at the kidney or along the way?
In the case of arterial disease, the embolization of calcium is insignificant in obstruction of blood flow, according to the folks that are promoting this. The "pieces" are small enough to not be of concern.
In the case of urologic ESWL, there are standards for how things should be handled. If a stone is >2 cm in size, a ureteral stent (a tube that goes from renal pelvis to bladder) should be inserted to allow fragments of the stone to pass down the ureter while urine flow is unobstructed due to the stent.