Over 5 yr, 103 elderly patients (mean age = 70 yr) with bile duct stones (mainly not amenable to endoscopic extraction) underwent adjuvant extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy using a first-generation kidney lithotripter. Disintegration of stones was achieved after a mean of 1.4 sessions in 92% of the patients. Spontaneous passage of fragments into the duodenum occurred in one fourth of the patients, and endoscopic extraction of fragments was necessary in 75% of the patients, resulting in complete clearance of the bile duct stones in 91 (88%) of 103 patients. The most important adverse effect was septic disease after extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy in 4% of the patients. The 30-day mortality rate was 1% (one patient), and another 15 patients died during a mean follow-up of 26 +/- 14 mo (mainly of causes unrelated to biliary tract disease). Two of 91 patients who had been rendered stone free were readmitted because of recurrent stone disease during the follow-up period. Of the 43 patients who still had their gallbladders during extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy, 14% subsequently underwent cholecystectomy. These data show that extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy of bile duct stones is a useful and safe adjunct to nonsurgical procedures for the removal of calculi in the biliary tree.