Kidney Stone Surgery - What Are The Options Open To You ?

If you have ever suffered with this ailment then you know how desperate you can be to get any relief from the pain that comes with kidney stones. You will do anything you can to pass the kidney stone. And you will vow to do anything in your power to prevent such a problem occurring again. Some kidney stones can be passed fairly easily depending on the size. Others may be more difficult to pass or may be so big that they need professional help to effect kidney stone removal.  Fortunately, medicine has come up with some effective treatments.  Here are several kidney stone surgery procedures, starting with the simplest and going to the most severe,  each one with it's benefits and drawbacks. At the end of this article you will have a better idea of the options open to you if you think professional kidney stone removal surgery is the only option.

Kidney Stone Surgery Procedures

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL):  First, your doctor will locate the stone using either an ultrasound machine or an x ray.  You can be given either a local anesthesia or just a sedative. Then you will lie down on a water filled pillow.   Your doctor then uses an instrument with high energy sound waves directly over where the stone is located.  The waves travel through your tissue and break up the stone into small pieces.  Then the fragments are passed.  Sometimes it is necessary to repeat this procedure if all of the fragments are not passed.
      
Ureteroscopic Stone Removal : Your doctor will insert a tube into your ureter with a wire basket         inside.  As it reaches the stone, the wire basket grabs the stone and removes it.  If the stone is too large, a laser or another type of device may be required to break it up enough to be removed.  Your recovery time is a little greater than ESWL.  This procedure is sometimes done if an ESWL has not removed everything.

Precutaneous Nephrolithotomy or Nephrolithotripsy:   Since this is surgery you will be hospitalized for at least 2 to 3 days, or longer if complications arise.   If a large stone has already left the kidney, the doctor may have to push the stone back into the kidney so that it may be removed.  In either of these procedures, an incision is made into the kidney and a hollow tube is inserted into it. 

In Nephrolithotomy, the doctor is able to remove the stone through the tube.  With Nephrolithotripsy, the stones are too large and have to be broken up first, and then removed by using the tube. Some of the side effects are a longer period of recovery, possible damage to some internal organs, and possibly causing the partial loss of normal kidney function.

If you have to choose a kidney stone removal procedure then talk to your doctor, weigh all of the options and choose what both of you feel is the best option for your case.

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