Kidney Stones Surgery

Kidney Stones Surgery

Most kidney stones are small and can be dissolved with some natural remedies or through medication. However, some large stones are difficult to remove with medication. Such complicated stones require Kidney stones surgery. The surgery is also required to break down the large stones into pieces. Such small pieces can be later on removed by taking drugs. Some important types of kidney stones surgery are described below;

Ureteroscopy: In this method, a small telescope is inserted into the urethra and is passed through the bladder to reach the stone. Once the stone is located then the surgeon removes the stone with the small basket that is attached with the telescope. If it were not possible to remove the stone, then he breaks it down into small pieces. Ureteroscopy is done after giving local anesthesia to the patient.

Lithotripsy: Lithotripsy is an effective kidney stones surgery method if the stone is located in the kidney or upper urethra. This method involves a small instrument, which will break down the stone into number of small pieces. The small pieces would then be passed on through the urine. Though this method is effective, it is not suitable for those persons who are suffering from large stones or those who have any other medical problems.

Ultrasonic lithotripsy: This method resembles the lithotripsy method but with a small difference. This method uses sound waves to break down the stone. The sound waves are inserted into the urethra through an electronic probe.  The surgeon would then remove the small pieces of stones or the patient while passing urine would pass it on.

Electro hydraulic lithotripsy: Here shock waves are generated with the help of electricity and are inserted into urethra through a flexible probe. This method is highly efficient in breaking down kidney stones anywhere in the urinary system. General anesthesia is required for the patient in order to commence with this kidney stones surgery.

Extra corporeal shock wave lithotripsy: This method uses highly impulsive shock waves to break down stones anywhere in the urinary system.  In this method, the surgeon breaks down the stone into small sand like granules, which would then be passed on by the patient in the urine. The surgery requires one hour. Local or general anesthesia is given to the patient for doing this surgery. This method should not be used for removing large stones or Struvite stones. This method is strictly prohibited for treating a pregnant woman.

Percutaneous Nephrostolithotomy: The surgeon performs this procedure after giving local anesthesia or intravenous sedation. A needle and guide wire is used to identify the exact location of the stone. The surgeon uses some surgical instruments like forceps to remove the stone. This Kidney stones surgery method is highly effective in removing large and medium stones. However, the patient requires hospitalization for two weeks before he/she can start taking up regular activity.
Open surgery: The doctors suggest open surgery for some patient in some rare cases. Such conditions require open surgery since other methods do not provide successful results. Here a cut is made in the patient’s back and the stone is removed through the cut. The patient is given general anesthesia to perform the surgery.

The patient can receive any of the above kidney stones surgery methods. The doctor determines the type of surgery after analyzing the age, physical condition, type and size of stone etc.