| Other treatments include surgery or lithotripsy – in which stones are smashed by applying ultrasonic waves to the outside of the abdomen. |
| Another approach, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, uses shock waves to break up the stones into tiny pieces that can then pass easily out of the system. |
| Extracorporeal shock wave therapy is trying to find other niches than lithotripsy, particularly as a treatment for tendon related pain. |
| The other so-called revolutionary treatment is extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, where gallstones are crushed by sound waves. |
| For proximal ureteric stones, shock wave lithotripsy is useful if the stone is less than 1 cm in size, and ureteroscopy is more successful for stones larger than 1 cm. |
| The specialist can use lithotripsy to break the stones into smaller pieces. |
