Emergency No: 08062136598
General Surgery | by CMRI | Published on 01/04/2020
Lithotripsy is a procedure reshaping the sphere of kidney stone management. The lithotripsy procedure is one of the most common urological interventions and offers a minimally invasive solution to those suffering from kidney stones. It disintegrates stones into smaller fragments by employing focused shock waves facilitating their passage through the urinary tract with decreased discomfort. This procedure is hugely adopted across the globe and is a transformative option for people struggling with recurrent kidney stones, giving faster recovery times and reduced risks compared to conventional surgical methods.
If you are looking for the best nephrologist in Kolkata for a lithotripsy procedure, then book your appointment with CMRI. You will find the best and most highly experienced health experts here ensuring successful procedures with safety.
In this blog, you can explore how lithotripsy brings comfort and renewed hope to people struggling with kidney stone disease. However, please note that this blog is for informative purposes only and does not replace the consultation of a doctor.
Lithotripsy, also called lithotripsy, is a medical procedure that uses a laser or high-energy shock waves to break stones in the kidney, gallbladder, or ureter. Once the stone is broken, the remaining particles are flushed out of the body while urinating. Stones in the kidney, gallbladder, or ureter, are a common phenomenon. Some stones are small enough and pass on their own, while for others, medical intervention may be required because of their size. Large stones cause a lot of pain and also block the flow of urine; thereby, treatment becomes an immediate requirement.
There are two types of lithotripsy used for stone operations, including:
Both operations treat stones effectively; the usage of one over the other depends on the overall health of a person and the type of stone.
This method of treatment of stones uses high-frequency shock waves to break down the stones. In this operation, an instrument known as a lithotripter is used to direct sound waves or focus ultrasonic energy directly at the stones, causing them to break into smaller pieces. These high-frequency sound waves only affect the stones and do not cause any harm to the surrounding organs and tissues. The shock waves travel into the body from the skin and tissue, breaking stones into smaller pieces. Post the operation, the broken smaller pieces are eventually passed through urine over several days or weeks. The stone operation is about an hour long with a short hospital stay and quick recovery time. This allows patients with certain types of stones in the body to avoid invasive surgery to remove stones.
This surgical treatment involves using an endoscope – a flexible, thin tube with a light and high-definition camera mounted on top of it – to see inside the impacted organ and reach the stones. Thereafter, the laser is used to break the large stone into smaller pieces, allowing them to pass through the urine in the following days and weeks. The surgery time is approximately 30 minutes, and the patients are discharged on the same day, as well as the recovery time is short, with average people returning to their normal activities within a week or two.
Stones are hard masses of tiny crystals formed due to excessive accumulation of certain minerals in the body and lack of fluids to dissolve the minerals. These minerals include calcium, oxalate, and uric acid. When the concentration of these minerals in the body exceeds a certain level, and there is not enough presence of fluids to dissolve these minerals – stones are formed.
Apart from this, some other factors such as poor diet, severe diarrhea, excessive weight, family history, or certain medicines can also cause the formation of stones.
Stones are generally brown or yellow and have a smooth, as well as a rough texture. These can be the size of sand, gravel, pearl, or even bigger and are usually painful since they block the flow of urine. In certain cases, people do not even realize the presence of stones unless they start to stir and move, causing discomfort and pain.
However, if stones do not pass on their own, they can cause immense damage to the kidneys and urinary tract. Thus, when medications fail to flush out stones, a laser technique may be used to break down the stone into small pieces, allowing it to pass through.
Before any lithotripsy, the doctor will determine the number of stones, the size, and the location of the stones in the body. This is done by injecting a dye into a vein to conduct an intravenous pyelogram (IP) to help locate the stones in the body. The injected dye travels through the bloodstream into the kidneys, ureter, and bladder, highlighting the stones as dark spots in an X-ray.
Certain points should be kept in mind before the surgery, such as:
During a lithotripsy procedure, that is majorly employed for the treatment of kidney stones, various key steps are followed:
After the patient is properly anesthetized, they are placed on a treatment table in a way that optimizes access to the targeted kidney stones. The positioning of a patient involves lying on their back or stomach, depending on the location of the stones within the urinary tract.
After lithotripsy, patients can experience mild discomfort or bruising in the treated area. Stone fragments are passed through urine causing temporary urinary urgency or discomfort. It's critical to stay hydrated to make it easier for stone particles to pass. Pain medication is recommended to manage any discomfort. Patients are usually recommended to resume normal activities slowly and include a diet rich in fluids to avert stone recurrence. Follow-up appointments should be ensured to track recovery and evaluate stone clearance.
Possible complications that you will witness post-surgery but need not be panicked about:
Lithotripsy procedure is identified as a keystone in the treatment of kidney stones, providing a minimally invasive and extremely proficient solution to minimize urinary tract obstruction. With its efficiency in breaking stones into smaller pieces and facilitating their clearance through shock waves, lithotripsy offers patients relief from symptoms and enhances overall quality of life. While mild discomfort and stone passage can be experienced post-procedure, right hydration, and follow-up care are important for optimum recovery. Lithotripsy illustrates an important tool in the extensive management of kidney stone disease.
Lithotripsy might lead to mild discomfort, but anesthesia is usually employed to reduce pain during the procedure.
Lithotripsy procedure is often considered safe, with fewer risks when performed by highly skilled and experienced healthcare professionals.
Shock wave lithotripsy is a non-invasive procedure that involves the use of shock waves to break kidney stones into smaller pieces for simpler passage.
No, lithotripsy is not usually used for gallstones; other options such as surgery (laparoscopic cholecystectomy) or medication are more common. However, extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy for gallstones is involved sometimes because of high recurrence rates, it has been also known to be effective in some cases.
Laser lithotripsy is a minimally invasive procedure involving the use of laser energy to break up kidney stones into smaller fragments for removal.
Yes, lithotripsy can be involved in the treatment of stones lodged in the ureter, usually through a procedure called ureteroscopic lithotripsy.
