MediGence: Enabling Better Health Decisions

Kidney stones are known to be hard deposits formed by the build-up of minerals like calcium or waste products like uric acid in the kidneys. They begin tiny, but as additional minerals adhere to them, they might become larger. Many times the kidney stones do pass on their own and might not require treatment. Other times they are painful or become lodged in the urinary system and may require surgery to be removed. If someone has kidney stones, they may need treatment or surgery to remove them.

The stone is enormous and incapable of moving on its own.
The patient is in extreme discomfort.
The kidney's urine flow is being obstructed by the stone.
Because of the stone, the patient is suffering from numerous urinary tract infections.

Follow up care: Recovery durations do vary by treatment, most patients are fully healed and able to resume their usual activities in six weeks. Many patients feel significantly better within the first week, but caution must be exercised to ensure complete recovery.

Procedures for Resolution of Kidney Stones:

Kidney stones can be treated with any of the following four methods:

Shock wave lithotripsy: The most frequent kidney stone therapy is SWL. It's ideal for tiny to medium-sized stones. A noninvasive procedure, it does not require any skin cuts.
Ureteroscopy: Stones in the kidneys as well as ureters are treated using this technique. The doctor locates and removes stones using a tiny, flexible scope. There are no cuts made in the skin.
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy or percutaneous nephrolithotripsy: This procedure is a possibility if the stone is big or lithotripsy is not breaking it up sufficiently. PCNL employs a tiny tube to reach the stone and use high-frequency sound waves to break it. The procedure can be carried out in one of two ways:
- A nephrolithotomy is a procedure in which your surgeon removes stone from the kidney using a tube.
- In Nephrolithotripsy The surgeon breaks apart the stone with sound waves or a laser, then vacuums up the bits with suction equipment.
Open surgery: Though rare, surgery may be a possibility if the kidney stone is particularly big or if previous treatments have failed to remove or break it. The patient will be given medication to render them unconscious. A incision in the side and into the kidney will be made by the surgeon. The stone is then removed via the hole. To aid urine drainage, a stent is inserted into the ureter.

Possible Complications and Risks of SWL: