Surgical treatments for urolithiasis in the upper urinary tract are reviewed on the basis of operation statistics at the Department of Urology, Osaka University Hospital for the past 30 years from 1957 to 1986. Open surgery was applied for 1,624 patients with urolithiasis in the kidney and ureter during this period. These operations accounted for 14.4% of the 11,300 cases of urological surgery at our department. Types and frequency of operations for urolithiasis were as follows: ureterolithotomies 697 cases (6.2%), pyelolithotomies including extended pyelotomy 376 cases (3.3%), nephrolithotomies 294 cases (2.6%), partial nephrectomies 132 cases (1.2%) and nephrectomies 125 cases (1.1%).