Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy for a giant calcified gallbladder stone. Case report.

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy to gallstones is an alternative treatment to surgery in the high-risk patient with acute cholecystitis. We describe the successful fragmentation of a giant gallbladder stone and the subsequent removal of fragments through a cholecystostomy tract. Even though the treatment required 22 days in hospital and multiple procedures, these were all considered low risk in this patient with severe chronic obstructive airway disease.