Long-Term Follow-Up of Renal Morphology and Function in Children after Lithotripsy

Between October 1990 and May 1991, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) was performed on 35 children. All the treatments were done with the Dornier MPL 9000 Lithotriptor under sedation. Following treatment all the children were controlled regularly every 6 months, and the long-term follow-up results concerning the renal functional and morphological alterations together with changes in blood pressure values and the rate of stone recurrence were analyzed. Renal functional evaluations using a radiosiotope renogram revealed a transient decrease in renal function in the early follow-up period (0–3 months), which returned to normal limits after this period. Sonographic evaluation of the renal dimensions and morphology did not show any gross pathology in the early and long-term evaluation. Again determination of renal parenchymal thickness together with renal growth showed no statistically significant alteration in the late control of the children. Finally, careful monitoring of blood pressure and the recurrence rate of stone disease revealed no statistically significant changes in these aspects. ESWL seems to be the preferred treatment modality in children due to its safe and effective therapy results. Especially the long-term evaluation of our children proved the safety of this procedure.