Urolithiasis is one of the most frequently encountered disorders in urology clinics, but among all urological diseases, it has witnessed the most rapid progress in treatment in recent years. New techniques and technology have brought minimally invasive therapies, improvement in the quality of patients' lives, and cost-effectiveness in treatment outcomes. Development of endoscopic retrograde treatment of urolithiasis led to the percutaneous antegrade maneuver, followed by clinical use of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Today, subsequent advances in urology have all but eliminated the...

Urolithiasis is not only one of the most frequently encountered diseases at uro logical clinics; it is also the disorder whose treatment has shown the most rapid progress in the past decade. In that period, medicine has experienced a real revolution, characterized by minimally invasive treatments, improvement of the quality of life, and cost-effectiveness in treatment outcomes. In urology, the revolution started with the development of endoscopic retrograde treatment of urolithiasis in the upper urinary tract, which led to development of the percuta neous antegrade maneuver in the latter half...