Stones in the biliary tree may coexist with gall-bladder stones, may be found only in the common duct (in the absence of gall-bladder stones) or, more rarely, may be present in the intrahepatic biliary tree-as in the Caroli syndrome.1 One of the most frequent causes of choledocholithiasis, however, is the retained common duct stone which has been left behind inadvertently after elective or emer...

Serum concentrations of symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) correlate with renal function in cats and SDMA has been shown to be a more reliable and earlier marker for chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared with serum creatinine (Cr). Calcium oxalate uroliths tend to develop in mid-to-older aged cats and kidney stones may cause a reduction in renal function with increased SDMA, but normal serum Cr....

OBJECTIVE Epidemiological data reveal that the overall risk for kidney stones disease is lower for women compared to age-matched men. However, the beneficial effect for the female sex is lost upon menopause, a time corresponding to the onset of fall in estrogen levels. The aim of this study was to describe the serum estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) characteristics of naturally postmenopausal...

results in group 1, the mean largest and cumulative stone diameters, respectively, were 18.7 ± 5.7 mm and 45.0 ± 12.0 mm. in group 2, the mean volume was 6,288.4 ± 2,733.0 mm3. the overall sf was 96.4% (100% for group 1 and 75% for group 2). the mean number of sessions of eswl and urs, respectively, was 1.4 ± 0.7 and 0.8 ± 0.9 in group 1 and 4.0 ± 2.0 and 1.5 ± 1.3 in group 2. the mean times to...

Biliary infections are an important cause of morbidity in the Western world. With regard to epidemiology, etiology, microbiological spectrum, prevalence, location and composition of gallstones, pathogenesis, clinical sign and therapy, there are large differences between the spectrum of biliary infections in the East and in the West (Table 1). In Western countries, gallstones are found in 10 to ...

BACKGROUND To investigate functional aspects of silent ureteral stones with special focus on obstruction and its relationship to renal anatomy. The present study is the first investigation of renal excretory function in patients with silent ureteral stones. METHODS Patients with primarily asymptomatic ureteral stones underwent a mercapto-acetyltriglycine (MAG-3) renal scintigraphy prior to tr...

INTRODUCTION To investigate retrospectively the impact of urinary stone volume on computed tomography stone attenuations measured in Hounsfield units in 253 patients with urolithiasis. MATERIAL AND METHODS CT scans were performed in 253 patients with suspected urinary stone disease from 2008 to 2010 using CT-Scanner Siemens, SOMATOM, Sensation 64. One experienced radiologist (A.L) who was bli...

Endoscopic papillary balloon dilation (EBD) for choledocholithiasis is known to be comparable to endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) especially in cases of small stones. With larger stones, EBD with conventional balloon, which have a diameter of 6-8 mm, was reported as less effective for extraction of stones. We evaluated the efficacy and complications of EBD with large balloons (10-15 mm) after li...

OBJECTIVE To present the results of upper calyceal access during percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) for stones in the lower calyx, as PCNL is considered the most effective minimally invasive surgery for managing lower calyceal stones, with percutaneous access either directly to the lower calyx or through an upper or middle calyx. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 76 patients with sin...

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS Large intracranial calcifications are occasionally encountered in routine computed tomography (CT) scans of the brain. These calcifications, also known as "brain stones", can be classified according to location and aetiology. Combining imaging findings with relevant clinical history and physical examination can help narrow down the differential diagnosis and may allow con...