Background and purpose: Endoscopic lithotripsy is often prolonged secondary to the retrograde migration of calculous fragments. Various balloons, baskets, and other devices have been used to prevent this migration. Our purpose is to analyze the effect of the Accordion(®) on stone migration and overall efficiency during lithotripsy.
Patients and methods: We prospectively evaluated 21 patients with a total of 23 distal ureteral stones. Patients underwent lithotripsy using an endoscopic impact lithotriptor. The Accordion was randomly used in 11 of these 21 patients. Data were collected regarding stone migration, stone size, stone ablation, ureteral clearing, and lengths of time for various stages of each procedure.
Results: Patients who were treated with the Accordion device experienced significantly less retrograde migration during fragmentation (P=0.0064). When stone volume was taken into account (but not on a per stone basis), ablation and ureteral clearing were also expedited, and fewer lithotripter "hits" and basket "sweeps" were needed.
Conclusion: The Accordion device is effective in preventing the migration of stone fragments during endoscopic ureteral lithotripsy. Our data suggest that this device may also increase efficiency of the fragmentation and clearance of ureteral calculi.