My thinking is that a sphincterotomy means that htey cut the sphincter muscle that may be spasmed shut. This was the case with me and I it helped a lot. It didn't help the rest of my pain so I went for lithotripsy. I thought it was my dream come true. I woke up the next day after two outpatient surgeries the lithotripsy and then an ERCP to remove the broken up stones with a stent replacement. Two days later, my pain returned. My doc had warned me that this may not work for me because I have had pain for too long and all of the receptors in and around the pancreas are now involved. Bummer! If you have stones and haven't had pain for over 2 yrs go for it. It's not painful at all. You will be sedated and it does break up stones in the ducts. Apparently this is not where my pain is coming from. I honestly believe that my pain is because I can no longer digest anything. Even if I drink a couple of glasses of water or cups of tea, the liquid starts coming out my nose rather than down my gullet like ordinary folks. So there you have it. The truth about my experience with lithotripsy.