![Lithotripsy | Johns Hopkins Medicine](/e69yszg/519.jpg)
Lithotripsy | Johns Hopkins Medicine
What is lithotripsy? Lithotripsy is a noninvasive (the skin is not pierced) procedure used to treat kidney stones that are too large to pass through the urinary tract. Lithotripsy treats kidney stones by sending focused ultrasonic energy or shock waves directly to the stone first located with fluoroscopy (a type of Xray "movie") or ultrasound (high frequency sound waves).