Treatment of pancreatic stones with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: results of a multicenter survey.

A retrospective multicenter survey was performed to evaluate the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) as a treatment of pancreatic stones.A survey was sent to 11 institutions belonging to the Japanese Association of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy in Digestive Diseases, and data were collected on 555 patients who underwent ESWL for pancreatic stones between January 1990 and September 2002. The male:female ratio was 5.2:1, and the mean age was 52.5 years. The etiology was alcohol related in 425 patients (76.6%) and idiopathic in 111 patients (20.0%); 204 patients (36.8%) had a single stone and 470 patients (84.7%) were symptomatic.Mean frequency of the procedure was 5.0 times (range, 1-29). Fragmentation of stones was achieved in 513 patients (92.4%), and the complete stone clearance rate after ESWL alone or in combination with interventional endoscopy was 72.6%. Symptom relief was achieved in 428 (91.1%) of 470 patients. Thirty-five patients (6.3%) developed complications, including 30 patients (5.4%) who developed acute pancreatitis. Five hundred four (90.8%) patients were followed for a mean of 44.3 months, during which 122 (22.0%) suffered stone recurrence (mean time to recurrence, 25.1 months). Twenty-two (4.1%) of the 504 patients who were followed required surgery. Pancreatic exocrine function improved in 65 patients (38.0%), was unchanged in 49 patients (28.7%), and progressed in 57 patients (33.3%). Pancreatic endocrine function improved in 44 patients (24.3%), was unchanged in 85 patients (47.0%), and progressed in 52 patients (28.7%).ESWL is the treatment of choice for clearing pancreatic stones.