Heurteloup's Percussion Lithotrite

Hit it with a hammer ...

Baron Charles Louis Stanislas Heurteloup (1793 -1844) was the first person to practice lithotrity in England. In 1829, he set up practice with the support of Anthony White, surgeon to Westminster Hospital.

Whilst operating on a clergyman in Sanderstead, Heurteloup decided to strike the end of his lithotrite instead of drilling.

He described this "percuteur courbe à marteau" in 1832. To protect the bladder, the patient was positioned on a specially made table (design pictured below) and the lithotrite was stabilised in a vice connected to one end.

Click on an item to view an enlarged image (where available)

The operating table

Once the instrument is in the bladder, the stone is grasped in the jaws (above) and the end of the instrument is hit with a hammer to fragment the stone. Despite the earlier-described crushing lithotrites, Heurteloup’s percussor was the most popular in the early years of lithotrity.

← Back to Lithotrites