Elsevier

Urology

Volume 66, Issue 3, September 2005, Pages 505-509
Urology

Adult urology
Treatment of bladder stones without associated prostate surgery: Results of a prospective study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2005.03.072Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

To assess the effectiveness of noninvasive bladder lithiasis treatment without associated prostate surgery to know whether bladder lithiasis is an absolute indication for prostate surgery.

Methods

Fifty patients with bladder lithiasis were entered in a prospective trial and were treated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy if lithiasis was smaller than 4 cm2. Independent of the presence or absence of bladder outlet obstruction, in no case was prostate surgery associated. The variables studied were the effectiveness of the treatment, changes in the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and the subsequent need for desobstructive prostate surgery. The statistical study was performed using Student’s t test and the proportional hazards model.

Results

Bladder lithiasis was successfully eliminated in 93% of the cases (in 77% of them with a single extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy session). The mean IPSS decreased from 17.7 to 9.7 points (P = 0.0001) after lithiasis elimination. After a mean follow-up of 22 months, a mere 8% of the patients needed subsequent prostate surgery because their IPSS had increased to 20 points or more. The sole prognostic factor for the need for ensuing prostate surgery was the pretreatment IPSS score (P = 0.042).

Conclusions

Noninvasive management of bladder lithiasis with no associated prostate surgery is highly efficient and results in marked symptomatic improvement. Furthermore, the number of patients needing subsequent prostate surgery was very low at mid-term follow-up. Because of all of the above, the existence of bladder lithiasis is not an absolute indication for prostate surgery.

Section snippets

Patients

A total of 50 patients were included who had received a diagnosis of bladder lithiasis in the course of a prospective trial. Their characteristics and the inclusion and exclusion criteria have been previously published.14

Patient Treatment

The following explorations were performed at the inclusion visit: plain radiology and ultrasonography; urinalysis and prostate-specific antigen measurement; the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS)15; and two physiologic uroflowmetry studies and one urodynamic study to

Results

Baseline data are presented in Table I. According to the bladder lithiasis size, 3 patients were treated with transurethral endoscopic lithotripsy, 2 with cystolithotomy, and the rest with ESWL; in no case was BPH surgery performed. The patients treated with ESWL received a mean 4158 impulses (95% CI 3440 to 4875) at a 7.44 kV energy peak (95% CI 6.8 to 8). Of the patients undergoing ESWL, 77% of patients needed only one session, 18% needed two, and 5% needed three. Complete elimination of

Comment

Since 1990, several works have been published on the management of bladder lithiasis using ESWL.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 However, some differences exist regarding the types of treatment and the kinds of machine used. Some patients were treated with a Siemens Lithostar lithotriptor,1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 13 others with a Dornier HM3,3, 8 a Dornier MPL 9000,5, 10, 11, 12 or a Dornier HM4.9 Our group used the Siemens Lithostar Ultra lithotriptor whose ultrasonography focalization allows

Conclusions

One of the most significant aspects of this study was that our patients were treated with ESWL only, without an invasive procedure and without anesthesia. We achieved a 93% effectiveness rate using a purely physiologic, noninvasive approach, with neither previous nor ensuing endoscopic maneuvers. This method has been shown to obtain complete expulsion of the stone fragments. The results of our study have shown that it is not necessary to add surgical treatment of BPH. Thus, the existence of

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