Sonographer led Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL).
Nazia Hussain, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Introduction
The ESWL service in Bradford has been running for many years and with the advent of ultrasound guided systems for lithotripsy in 2006 the expertise of sonographers at Bradford was sought to enable the treatment to be used with this nonionising method of imaging.
Ultrasound is deemed to be a relatively cheap and safe method of imaging, which is readily available and with operator expertise a good tool in guiding ESWL treatment. The real time capability allows for accuracy in stone focussing which increases the success of th treatment, and with no ionising dose to consider.
As the service evolved so did the sonographer role, we now independently treat once they have been consented. All patients are discussed at the Stone MDT which runs every Monday prior to being offered ESWL.