Kidney stones are hard deposits made up of salts and minerals in kidney. Removing kidney stones with medication and lots of water may be painful at times. If the stones are large and are struck in the urinary tract then it may lead to complications such as severe pain at rest, infections, blood in urine, difficulty in passing urine, your doctor may recommend surgery.
Diagnosing Kidney Stones
Preliminary Diagnostic tests include Blood tests to check for increased levels of Uric acid and calcium. 24 hour urine sample testing may indicate stone forming minerals in urine. CT scan can reveal even tiny stone deposits.
Treatment of Large Kidney Stones
Large stones causing symptoms such as bleeding and infections can be removed by a procedure called as a Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL).The procedure is done via a needle-punctured tract of the skin in your back. It has evolved and refined with the development of specifically designed instruments, endoscopes and accessories.
Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy
This procedure requires admission to the hospital. This approach is best for large stones measuring more than 2 cm. The procedure starts with pre-operative urographic assessment with CT scan followed by a minute tube placed directly within the kidney to guide removal of large stones. The second step is to dilate a track from the skin through the kidney into the collecting system, and to place a working sheath. The third step is to introduce a Nephroscope via the sheath into the renal system to locate the stones. Smaller stones can be easily removed with rigid stone forceps directly via the sheath. Larger stones will have to be fragmented first using either ultrasonic lithotripsy or laser lithotripsy. A wound drain and catheter will be inserted to help in drainage of urine. The duration of hospital stay is approximately 10 days.
Prevention of Kidney Stones
Prevention of kidney stones and its recurrence involves a combination of mediations and lifestyle modifications such as drinking enough water to pass about 2.5 liters of urine per day, restrict foods such as beets, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, spinach, nuts, tea and soy products to name a few. Choosing a diet with low salt and substituting animal protein with non animal source such as such as legumes will also help in prevention of kidney stones.
Finding and Reaching Urologists for Kidney Stone Treatment
To find urologists, you need not do randomly search online and visit many different websites. On Hinfoways, you can find and reach urologists from different hospitals and destinations on one platform. You can share your medical reports with multiple urologists at one go. You can avail medical opinions from multiple urologists and choose a urologist for your kidney stone treatment.
Disclaimer: The content provided here is meant for general informational purposes only and hence SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical advice, care or evaluation by a qualified doctor/physician or other relevantly qualified healthcare provider.