Treatment of Stone disease : Lithotripsy Lithotripsy is a 30 - 90-minute non-invasive kidney stone treatment procedure which breaks the stones in the body into small fragments. Lithotripsy can be performed to break stones in the various organs of the body such as kidney, gallbladder, liver, etc. There are several types of lithotripsy procedures for kidney stones removal: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) Shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) Laser lithotripsy Percutaneous lithotripsy Endoscopic lithotripsy In general, any type of lithotripsy procedure (except percutaneous nephrolithotripsy) follows this process: 1. At the outset, an anesthetist administers an anesthetic agent to ensure that you remain relaxed and pain-free during the procedure. 2. Once the anesthesia begins to take effect, then you will be positioned you on a water-filled cushion or in a water-filled tub. 3. Thereafter, the urologist identifies the areas through which the stones can be accessed directly. (The stones are located through X-Ray and ultrasound prior to beginning the lithotripsy procedure.) 4. He then directs a sequence of shock waves to shatter and fragment the kidney stone(s). During this process, you may experience a slight buzzing feeling on your skin. Please Note: The stone(s) are monitored continuously through fluoroscopy, or ultrasound, during the procedure. Once the stone fragments are small enough to pass through the urinary system, the procedure ends.