Lithotomy from Greek for "lithos" (stone) and "tomos" (cut), is a surgical method for removal of calculi, stones formed inside certain organs, such as the urinary tract (kidney stones), bladder (bladder stones), and gallbladder (gallstones), that cannot exit naturally through the urinary system or biliary tract. The procedure is usually performed by means of a surgical incision (therefore invasive). Lithotomy differs from lithotripsy, where the stones are crushed either by a minimally invasive probe inserted through the exit canal, or by an acoustic pulse (extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy), which is a non-invasive procedure. Because of these less invasive procedures, the use of lithotomy has decreased significantly in the modern era. Uses Lithotomy is a surgical method for removal of calculi, stones formed inside certain organs, such as the urinary tract (kidney stones), bladder (bladder stones), and gallbladder (gallstones), that cannot exit naturally through the urinary system or biliary tract. Contraindications Technique Lithotomy is a procedure in which a surgical incision is made and the bladder, ureters or affected organ opened surgically to remove stones. Recovery History Ancient history Human beings have known of bladder stones for thousands of years, and have attempted to treat them for almost as long. The oldest bladder stone that has been found was discovered in Egypt in 1901, and it has been dated to 4900 BC. The earliest written records describing bladder stones are in papyrus dating from 1500 BC in Ancient Egypt. Disease caused by the formation of stones was described in Mesopotamia from 3200 to 1200 BC; the first description of a surgical procedure to treat stones was described in the Sushruta Samhita by Sushruta around 600 BC. The presence of specialist lithotomists is described by Hippocrates, and is also included in the famous Hippocratic Oath: "I will not cut for stone, even for the patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners," a clear warning for physicians against the "cutting" of persons "laboring under the stone"; an act that was better left to surgeons, as distinct from physicians. Lithotomy at the time involved operations to remove bladder stones via the perineum; like other surgery before the invention of anesthesia, these were intensely painful for the patient, and since antibiotics were not yet available, often resulted in deadly infection and inflammation as well. Ammonius, who practiced lithotomy in Alexandria circa 200 BC, coined the