Elsevier

Urology

Volume 52, Issue 2, August 1998, Pages 322-323
Urology

Case Reports
Splenic rupture and abscess after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-4295(98)00193-9Get rights and content

Abstract

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is the first choice for the treatment of most urinary stones. Complications of ESWL can be separated into two groups: those related to the administration of the shock waves and those related to fragmentation and elimination of the stone’s particles. We report a rare case of splenic trauma followed by abscess after ESWL.

Section snippets

Case report

A 37-year-old man presented with urinary tract infection and left flank pain. An intravenous urogram showed a partially obstructive stone at the inferior pole of the left kidney associated with mild hydronephrosis. After successful treatment of the infection, he underwent ESWL (Dornier MFL 5000 lithotriptor). He received a total of 2400 impulses at 24 kV in a single section.

After ESWL, left flank pain was noted and 3 days later, fever (38.5°C) and vomiting developed. He presented to the

Comment

Complications of ESWL are rare, and we found only two published reports of splenic rupture after ESWL.4, 5 Different from our patient, these 2 cases occurred in patients with previous splenic abnormalities, which may have contributed to the rupture.

There are no studies on the effects of ESWL in the spleen, probably because of its rarity and the difficult functional evaluation of this organ. We believe that the alterations observed in some kidneys (intraparenchymal and perirenal hemorrhage, as

References (5)

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