Two types of machines are used to create shock waves of the right frequency and amplitude necessary to fracture the stones without causing injury to the patient. The original machines use a water tank in which the patient sits while the machine pulses the adjacent water. Since water cannot be compressed, the shock waves exert great force on very hard objects such as a kidney stone. Newer machines operate without a tank, and the patient simply lies on a table during the procedure. After lithotripsy, copious amounts of water must be taken to pass the broken pieces of the stone.
Some patients experience localized bruising after litho-tripsy.
Kidney Stone Prevention Research into the prevention of recurrent kidney stones has produced many helpful dietary guidelines, nutritional protocols, and lifestyle changes that can reduce or eliminate the potential for future kidney stones. Using several effective protocols can significantly reduce the chance of kidney stones occurring again after a first episode and may help pass a recurrent stone quicker with less difficulty. It was originally postulated that patients with a history of renal calculi should limit their intake of calcium. In fact, current recommendations from the National Institutes of Health published on the Internet continue to call for calcium-restricted diets. Such dietary changes also affect the alkali and pH of the body by calling for the restriction of such foods as apples, beets, parsley, broccoli, spinach, and pineapples.