Upper urinary tract uroliths in companion animals : minimally invasive management by extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy

Abstract

Aim of the work To outline the common disorder that is urolithiasis in canine and feline patients. To further elaborate a specific treatment strategy: extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. Finally, to better understand its application in the veterinary practice, based on the human recurrent applications and evaluate the patient’s amenability for lithotripsy. Summary Urolithiasis is a frequently encountered clinical disorder in small animal companions. The majority of uroliths are located in the lower urinary tract, however, nephroliths and ureteroliths pose a major managerial challenge in veterinary medicine. The most recent "ACVIM Small Animal Consensus Recommendations on the Treatment and Prevention of Uroliths in Dogs and Cats" discourages traditional surgery procedures as the primary solution, which should be resorted to in case of emergency only (e.g. urinary tract obstruction) and therefore, stones should be removed by minimally invasive procedures. A common minimally invasive procedure is extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. This method involves upper urinary tract urolith fragmentation using shockwave therapy, a regularly used therapy in human medicine. However, not every patient is eligible for extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy as many factors determine a good candidate. The objectives of this work are to evaluate the said therapy in the veterinary practice as well as each patient’s amenability for lithotripsy.