Purpose : Among various intracorporeal lithotriptors, Lithoclast (EMS, Switzerland) has become the widely used tool for the treatment of urinary stones. Recently, the holmium:YAG laser has been used with a wide range of potential urological applications, including intracorporeal lithotripsy of urinary calculi. The purpose of the present study is to compare Lithoclast with holmium:YAG laser lithotripsy in ureteral calculi fragmentation. Methods : Out of 51 patients with ureteral calculi, 26 underwent Lithoclast lithotripsy and 25 holmium:YAG lithotripsy using a 8/9.8F rigid ureteroscope. There were no changes to the ureteroscopes, video monitors, baskets or irrigation devices during the study period.Results : There were no differences in patient age, sex, stone size and location of stones between these groups. The immediate stone-free rates were 96.0% in the holmium:YAG group and 73.1% in the Lithoclast group ( P < 0.05). The 3-month stone-free rates were 96.0% and 84.6%, respectively ( P = 0.350). The mean operation time and mean period of postoperative hospitalization in the holmium:YAG group (49.8 min and 1.0 days, respectively) were shorter than those of the Lithoclast counterpart (76.9 min and 2.5 days, respectively). Post-treatment complications, such as ureteral perforation, were encountered in only two patients who underwent Lithoclast. Conclusions : Holmium:YAG lithotripsy was associated with shorter operation time and postoperative hospitalization period. These data also suggest that holmium:YAG lithotripsy was safe and more effective than Lithoclast lithotripsy in the aspect of immediate stone free rate. We believe that holmium:YAG laser is an excellent treatment modality for managing ureteral calculi.

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We have grown 3C‐SiC nanowires on nickel coated Si(100) substrates using single source precursors by thermal metal‐organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CH2CHSi(CH3)Cl2) and diethylmethylsilane (CH3SiH(C2H5)2) were used as a single precursor without any carrier and bubbler gas. 3C‐SiC nanowires with 40 ∼ 100 nm diameter could grow on substrates at temperature as low as 900 °C. XRD pattern showed that SiC nano‐wires were cubic silicon carbide. TEM analysis showed that an amorphous carbon layer surrounds the as‐deposited SiC nanowires, and the 3C‐SiC nanowire has [111] growth direction with well‐crystallized structure. XPS and EDX analyses showed that the as‐obtained SiC nanowire has an atomic Si and C composition of about 1.0:1.2, suggesting possible applications for both electronic devices and field emitters. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)