Most of the side effects involved with conventional surgery are avoided. Some patients may experience pain as fragments of the stone pass out of the body through the urine. Physicians and patients agree, however, that ESWL is a far less painful treatment for kidney stones than traditional surgery. Very few complications from the lithotripsy procedure have been reported to date. Lithotripsy patients are usually up and walking comfortably the next day.
Some patients require pain medications for a day or two while the stone fragments pass.
In some instances, a patient may experience difficulty passing the small pieces of kidney stone. If this occurs, it may become necessary to undergo urologic manipulation of stone fragments. Occasionally additional ESWL treatments are necessary if the stone is very large or if multiple stones are present. Rarely, open surgery will be necessary if lithotripsy fails.