Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy in Impacted Upper Ureteral Stones: A Prospective Randomized Comparison Between Stented and Non-stented Techniques

What are the Benefits and Harms of Ureteroscopy Compared with Shock-wave Lithotripsy in the Treatment of Upper Ureteral Stones? A Systematic Review

“…One study looked at the effect of prestenting on SFRs with SWL [52]. In this study, high SFRs were seen in both treatment groups; 86.7% in the nonstented group and 90% in the stented group, and there was no statistically significant difference in the achieved SFRs.…”

Shock Wave Lithotripsy for the Treatment of Ureteral Stones

“…In a recent prospective trial, 60 patients treated with SWL for proximal ureteral stones of 2 cm or less were randomized to ureteral stenting or not prior to SWL. There was no difference between the two groups regarding stone free rate, number of treatment sessions per patient und number of shock waves delivered [ 11 ].…”

Ureteral stenting can be a negative predictor for successful outcome following shock wave lithotripsy in patients with ureteral stones

“…Unfortunately, few reports have indicated that ureteral stents increase stone-free status or success rates following SWL. Several previous studies demonstrated that ureteral stents do not improve SWL success or SFR [9,10,[19][20][21]. Rather, recent studies found that ureteral stents negatively affect SWL success or SFR.…”

“…Similar to the issue of ureteral stenting and SWL complications, the effects of SWL on stone-free rates (SFRs) are also controversial [7,9,10]. Several recent studies have demonstrated that ureteral stenting reduces the SFR following SWL [11][12][13], but the significance of this finding is debated.…”