Clinical approach

Urolithiasis is a disease known to mankind since antiquity. In fact lithotomy, i.e. the surgical removal of bladder calculi, is the oldest surgical operation and was practiced by the ancient Egyptians. The prevalence of the condition is still high today, affecting around 10% of the population. Unlike in developing countries, where urinary bladder calculi are the main presentation, in Western countries the upper urinary tract is more commonly involved. Stones located in the bladder are almost always associated with bladder outlet obstruction and only in anecdotal cases with the presence of foreign bodies such as nonabsorbable sutures. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Milan.