Abstract
Purpose: Holmium:YAG lithotripsy fragments stones through a photothermal mechanism. Uric acid when heated is known to be converted into cyanide. We test the hypothesis that holmium: YAG lithotripsy of uric acid calculi produces cyanide. Materials and Methods: Human calculi of known uric acid composition were irradiated with holmium:YAG energy in water. Stones received a total holmium:YAG energy of 0 (control), 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 or 1.25 kJ. The water in which lithotripsy was performed was analyzed for cyanide concentration. A graph was constructed to relate holmium:YAG energy to cyanide production. Results: Holmium:YAG lithotripsy of uric acid calculi in vitro produced cyanide consistently. Cyanide production correlated with total holmium:YAG energy (p<0.001). Conclusions: Holmium:YAG lithotripsy of uric acid calculi risks production of cyanide. This study raises significant safety issues.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 320-324 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Urology |
Volume | 160 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1998 |
Keywords
- Holmium
- Lithotripsy, laser
- Uric acid, calculi
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Urology