Can gallstones be treated with lithotripsy?

Gallstones generally cannot be treated with lithotripsy. Lithotripsy is a method used for treating urinary tract stones, in which a high-energy shock wave generated by an external lithotripter is focused on the stone to break it into smaller fragments that can then be passed out of the body through urine. However, gallstones are located within the gallbladder. If laser lithotripsy is used to fragment the stones into smaller pieces, these smaller stones may not necessarily be expelled from the gallbladder even with gallbladder contractions. Moreover, if small stones enter the common bile duct, they can easily become lodged, leading to acute cholangitis and potentially more severe complications. Therefore, lithotripsy is not recommended for the treatment of gallstones.