Celebrating the heroes behind 40-years of Non-invasive Stone Treatment
#ProudToESWL 2021
The birth of ESWL
On the 7th Feb 1980 (40 years ago), the first extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) treatment of a human was successfully performed.
The breakthrough would go on to revolutionize urolithiasis and stone management.
Today, ESWL still retains its advantage as the most patient-friendly, non-invasive treatment for kidney stones.
Here at Dornier MedTech, we believe in ESWL as an important foundational approach to treating stone diseases. With ProudToESWL, we want to celebrate the professionals in our amazing industry that make patient relief possible on a day-to-day basis.
ESWL is designed to be, and is still the most patient-friendly treatment modality. We want to recognize and highlight the amazing human stories surrounding our work to remind ourselves that our patients are the reason why we do what we do.
Feel free to write to us at proudtoeswl@dornier.com if you have further questions.
We are proud to announce the winners of ProudToESWL 2020
The melamine-tainted milk powder scandal broke out in China in September 2008, affecting some 290,000 children with urinary calculi. Till today, we’ve treated more than 1,300 children with the Delta II.
I will never forget a case involving an 11-month baby boy. He was in such pain due to ureteral lithiasis, hydronephrosis and pyema. The child also had a 41-degree fever. His cries broke all our hearts. His parents sobbed “please save our baby’s life!”
The child needed either ESWL or endoscopic surgery. We preferred ESWL due to its lower invasiveness, but we also knew that it had to be done fast, otherwise the child’s life would be in grave danger. We very quickly expediated an ESWL treatment for the child.
The procedure was nerve-wracking. Eventually, the child’s urine flowed with pus on the operating table. We deduce from the pus that the stone was crushed, and the child’s fever subsided that very day.
Prof. Jia Jianye
Special Expert of Beijing University International Hospital, China
Grand prize winner
Having conducted over 18,000 ESWL procedures, Mohamed Shameem has one story to share.
A patient came in with a 1.5cm CBD stone.
The medical gastroenterologist conducted an ERCP procedure, managing to catch the stone. However, the basket could not be extracted, as a technical problem stopped it from operating correctly.
I was asked to help fragment the stone so the basket can be released. After about 700 shocks, we managed to do just that.
I currently use a Dornier Compact Sigma, and I am grateful for Dornier machines, as they help me achieve success in my cases.
Mohamed Shameem
ESWL Technologist, Apollo Hospitals, India
First runner-up
This is a special case. I want to share the story of how we treated a 56-year-old male patient suffering from a staghorn calculus, with shockwaves.
The standard procedure for staghorn calculus would be URS-assisted PCNL treatment; however, the patient had a strong preference for ESWL treatment, so we decided to give it a shot.
Paying close attention to avoid kidney damage, as well as administering treatment in 1-3 month intervals, we managed to achieve complete stone clearance after 24 sessions, which took about two and a half years!
