All you wanted to know about kidney stones

About 10% of the population suffer from kidney stones which can be fatal, but if proper treatment is taken, can be safely removed, in some cases without the need for any surgery. Here’s a Q&A Guide from Hitech Kidney Stone Hospital (7th Block, Jayanagar) on all you wanted to know about kidney stones and its treatments:

WHAT IS A KIDNEY URINARY/STONE?
A kidney/urinary stone is a particle crystal in the urinary tract formed by substances in urine. Urinary stones vary in size from a grain of sand to the size of a tennis ball. Regardless of the size, they are one of the most painful problems known. Kidney/Urinary stones can cause permanent damages to the kidneys if not treated approximately.

SYMPTOMS OF KIDNEY URINARY / STONE:
Urinary stones are very common and dangerous. If not treated properly, it can lead to permanent kidney damage. A typical stone attack is a sudden pain occurring at night or early in the morning. The pain starts in the loin and radiates around the abdomen down into the groin. Nausea and vomiting are common. Often you cannot sit or lie still. Kidney/urinary stones are often confused with other diseases such as acute appendicitis, gastroenteritis and colitis.

WHAT TO EXPECT IF A STONE IS SUSPECTED?
Urinary stone cause blood in the urine. Treatments begin with a urinalysis, followed by a simple x-ray and ultrasound scan of the abdomen to find the stone. An intravenous pyelogram (IVP) is often needed. In the procedure, a small amount of dye is injected through a vein, and x-rays are taken to find out exactly where the stone is and how big it is.

In rare cases, a CAT scan is necessary. If urinary stones begin to reoccur, a metabolic stone evaluation of urine and blood samples should be done to see if an underlying cause can be found. Extra-corporeal Sound Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) is most significant and state of art in the history of urinary stone treatment now available in the heart of the garden city. Lithotripsy (ESWL) is a technique for treating stones (calculus) in urinary system that does not require surgery, anesthesia blood transfusion and is painless.

WHAT IS EWSL?
Extra Corporeal Sound Wave Lithotripsy is a sound wave which is a high energy pressure wave. It is used to break the stones into small pieces, as grain of sand. The sound waves which are generated outside the body beaks the urinary stones within the body. Because of their small size the stone fragments passes out from the body along with the urine.

WHAT DOES THE TREATMENT INVOLVE?
The patient is placed on top of a treatment table, a water filled bellow will touch the body and which produce sound waves; by using the x-ray fluoroscopy the stone will be targeted. Approximately one sound wave will be generated per second, depending on the size of stone about a couple of treatment sessions are needed to fragment the calculus (stone). The entire procedure takes about 45 to 60 minutes.

WHAT ARE THE COMPLICATIONS/SIDE-EFFECTS?
Extra Corporeal sound wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a treatment without any complications and side-effects; no damage to the urinary system has been reported from last two decades. However some patients may have pain, fever and nausea (vomiting) as the stones fragments pass out through urine. These symptoms usually do not last long and they can be relieved with some mild pain killer medicines. A few patients may pass little blood in the urine which does not require any special treatment and it will stop on its own within 24 hours time. Urinary tract infection (UTI) from bacteria may rarely occur.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF ESWL?
* Surgery is not required.
* Treatment is painless
* Anesthesia is not required.
* There are no complications/side-effects.
* No hospitalization required.
* Recovery time is much less and the patient can get back to his/her routine work very soon after treatment.

CAN ALL URINARY STONE PATIENTS BE TREATED WITH ESWL?
No. The size, number, location, composition of the stone and the anatomical abnormalities of urinary system are the factors that must be taken into account, through a series of lab tests, ultra sonography, x-ray, IVU, renal isotope scans, and clinical examination, and then decide whether ESWL treatment is the best way possible. ESWL is not advisable in cases of uncontrollable urinary infection, where the kidney with the stone has little or no function, a life threatening cardiac condition, cardiac pacemaker and pregnant women. After the ESWL treatment some patients may still have stone fragments that are too large to be passed out from the tract, these stones can treated from multiple sessions of ESWL and fragmented adequately.