Comment by herval
21 hours ago
“Lithotripsy” is the name of the kidney stone treatment. My understanding is it’s based on vibration, not ultrasound (I know, vibration is sound - my understanding is the method on the linked article uses higher frequency + intensity + shorter pulses than the kidney stone method - so sorta like microwaving tumors vs using a massage gun on kidney stones?)
I think parent is thinking of "Ultrasonic lithotripsy" which does use ultrasound.
I’ve had it, it’s ultrasound but it’s not always effective against hard stones.
I think that's traditionally done with lasers.
My surgeon told me my previous kidney cancer surgery (partial nephrectomy) meant my 7/8 size kidney wouldn't handle ultrasound treatment for the big kidney stone I'd developed 10 years after the cancer. So laser instead! Worked well but not much fun at the time.
Having had kidney stones, they're both used. I think for the sonic one they put you in a water bath because it conducts better. But as I understand it, the docs can pick whichever one is more optimal, be it shattering the stone sonically or zapping it with a laser.
That’s transurethral lithotripsy.