Use of local anesthesia for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is being performed at many centers with the use of either general or epidural anesthesia. We report our experience with 39 patients treated by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy under local anesthesia. These patients tolerated the procedure well and had good fragmentation of the stones. Of the patients 18 were treated on an outpatient basis. In selected patients local anesthesia offers an alternative that can decrease the risk of anesthesia, and reduce the cost and hospital stay associated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.