Once a person is diagnosed with kidney stone, physicians evaluate if they need to undergo surgery treatment or not. But if after a month of medication but the kidney stones remains trapped in the ureter, then surgery becomes one of the most effective solutions. Below are the several surgical treatments which they can offer you.
Uretersocopy
This treatment uses an ureterescope, a long and thin telescope which is inserted through a person’s urethra and allowed to pass through the bladder until it finally reaches the ureter and the location of the stone. The urologist uses a small basket which is attached to the ureterescope which carefully breaks down the stone that formed in the ureter with the aid of a laser. The fragments are then allowed to pass through naturally with the urine after it has been broken down.
Lithotripsy
This treatment is very much effective in cases wherein the stones are stuck at the upper ureter or the actual kidney of the patient wherein an instrument is used to help break down into tiny particles these stones. Nevertheless, this is not recommended with patients who have very large stones formation in their kidney.
Types of Lithotripsy
Ultrasonic Lithotripsy
This treatment uses high frequency sound waves which are delivered through the body by inserting an electronic probe to its ureter. The broken down fragments are then allowed to pass naturally but may also be surgically removed if the patient finds it difficult to flush these particles in the urine.
Electrohydraulic Lithotripsy (EHL)
This treatment uses a flexible probe which helps break down the small stones in the kidney after allowing it to be exposed to shock waves that are generated by electricity. Normally, a flexible ureterescope is used to help break down these stones.
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL)
This treatment uses highly focused impulses that come from an outside source that are used to help pulverize the kidney stones of the body. More often than not, these kidney stones are broken down to sand granule like substances which can easily pass through the body together with the urine. Nevertheless, this treatment is not recommended for pregnant women as well as patients who have struvite stones which are over one inch in diameter.
All of these lithotripsy treatments require the use of general or regional anesthesia to help minimize the pain of the procedure which lasts for more than an hour. Moreover, patients may be required to undergo more than one treatment to further eliminate these stones in the kidney.
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