Kidney Operation for Stones

Kidney Stones are compact deposits made up of waste products such as uric acid or minerals like calcium. At the beginning they are smaller in size , but they may grow bigger when more minerals stick to them.

 

Some kidney stones usually pass on their own without any treatment. Other stones are painful and get inserted in your urinary tract. So, they need to be removed with the help of surgery.

 

You may need kidney operation or surgery for the removal of stones if:

 

• The stone is larger in size and is unable to pass on its own]

• You feel a lot of pain

• The stone blocks the urine flow out of the kidney

 

Your kidney stone causes urinary tract infection

What size of kidney stone generally requires operation or surgery?

Stone passage is influenced by many factors such as size and location of stone. The larger stone is less likely to pass on its own without surgery. Operation is commonly recommended for kidney stones which are 0.5 centimeters or larger in size.

 

Types of kidney operations for stone

 Following are kidney stone surgery or operation types that can be used to treat kidney stones:

 

• Shock wave lithotripsy

• Ureteroscopy

• Percutaneous nephrolithotripsy or percutaneous nephrolithotomy

• Robotic-Assisted Kidney Stone Removal or laparoscopic

• Open surgery

 

Shock wave lithotripsy

Shock wave lithotripsy is the most common kidney stone surgery type. It shows excellent results on small or medium sized stones. It is noninvasive, meaning that no cuts are made while performing surgery in your skin.

 

During this operation, you may lie on a table. You will get medicine in advance to limit any discomfort or pain.

 

The doctor uses an ultrasound or X-ray to find the stones in your kidney. Then, they put high-energy shock waves from the outside at your kidney . These waves undergo by your skin and break the stone into many small pieces.

 

The doctor may put a tube known as a stent into your ureter (a tubular structure that carries urine from kidney to the urinary bladder). This stent or tube helps the pieces of stone to pass. SWL commonly takes about an hour. You usually go home on the same day of surgery.

 

Afterward, you should drink lots of water to rinse out the pieces of stone  in your urine. You may have to pee by a strainer to grab pieces of the stone so doctors can test them.

 

About half of the people who have kidney stones remove them with the help of SWL. If this operation does not work, you may need to repeat this procedure.

 

SWL can cause some side effects like blood in your urine or cramps. More severe health conditions are less likely, but may include:

 

• Bleeding around kidney

• Damage to kidney

• Infection

• Stone which blocks urine flow

 

What is the difference between shock wave lithotripsy and laser kidney stone surgery?

Laser lithotripsy is not a major surgery. Laser kidney stone surgery breaks the stones more directly from the inside of the body with the help of a laser. While shock wave lithotripsy uses shock waves to break stones from outside of the body.

 

Ureteroscopy

Ureteroscopy kidney stone removal treats stones in the ureter and kidney. Your doctor commonly uses a thin and  flexible scope to locate and remove stones. This operation does not cause any cuts in your skin. You remain asleep through this whole operation.

 

Your doctor passes the scope via your bladder and ureter into the kidney. For the stone removal they use a small basket. For larger stones, the doctor will pass a laser through the scope to break the stone. Usually you are able to go home on the same day of surgery.

 

The doctor may place a stent in your ureter to drain urine from your kidney into your bladder. You will go back to the doctor after 4-10 days to remove the stent.

 

Some stents contain a string on the end so you may pull it out on your own. You should follow the instructions of the doctor about removing the stent yourself.

 

Possible issues after a ureteroscopy kidney stone removal may include:

• Infection

• Bleeding

• Narrowing of ureter

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy or percutaneous nephrolithotripsy

If your stones are larger in size and lithotripsy doesn’t break them properly,  percutaneous nephrolithotripsy is an option for you. PCNL commonly uses a small tube to reach stone and break it with the help of high-frequency sound waves.

 

You will be given medicines so that you won’t be awake during this operation. Your surgeon will form a small cut in your side or back and place a narrow scope into the hole.

 

This surgery can be perform in two ways:

 

Nephrolithotomy: In this operation, your surgeon removes the stone by a tube.

 

Nephrolithotripsy: Your surgeon commonly uses laser or sound waves to break up the stones and then clean the pieces by a suction machine.

 

Percutaneous nephrolithotripsy takes 20-45 minutes. You’ll commonly have to stay in hospital for one day or two after surgery. Typically, a stent must stay in your kidney for a few days that helps urine to drain.

 

Your doctor might do an ultrasound or X-ray a few weeks later to indicate whether any parts of stone are left. They might also send the stone pieces to a lab to determine their composition.

 

Risks from this operation include:

 

• Damage to kidney, liver, ureter, bowel, or bladder

• Infection

• Bleeding

 

Robotic-assisted kidney stone removal or laparoscopic

Robotic-assisted kidney stone removal, also called laparoscopic surgery, gives doctors a detailed, three-dimensional view of tiny areas, like the ureters. It also gives surgeons with a better range of ability and motion to make more efficient incisions, which may cause less scarring. People who have this operation can heal more quickly and spend a few days in the hospital as compared to those who have had usual open surgery.

 

Laparoscopic kidney stone surgery is most commonly used in people who have kidney stones when they were born, and have a kidney drainage problem, known as ureteropelvic junction obstruction. The surgery removes stones as well as repair the ureteropelvic junction at the same time.

 

In rare situations, your doctor recommends laparoscopic or robotic-assisted surgery for the removal of complicated stones that cannot be removed successfully using other operations.

 

Recovery Time of Laparoscopic kidney Stone Surgery

Most of the patients feel better within a few days, but they do not pull, push, or lift any heavy objects without the permission of the doctor. Full recovery generally takes six weeks for internal healing.

 

Open surgery

Rarely open surgery is performed for kidney stones anymore. But if your stone is larger in size and can’t be crushed or removed with other types of operations, open surgery might be an option to remove kidney stones.

 

Surgery may help if:

• One of the stones is insertedin your ureter

• You suffer from a lot of pain

• The stone blocks the flow of urine

• You are bleeding or have an infection

 

You will be given some medicines, so you won’t awake during the procedure. The surgeon makes a small cut into your kidney and your. They will remove the stone via the opening. A stent is placed in your ureter to help urine drain.

 

You need to stay in the hospital for some days. It commonly takes 4-6 weeks to fully recover after open surgery.

 

Kidney stone operation cost

The kidney stone operation cost ranges from $11,819-$17,837.

 

Summary

4 major methods for kidney stone removal are shock wave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotripsy, robotic-assisted kidney stone removal or laparoscopic. Open surgery is performed rarely.

 

The goal of any kidney operation for stone is to treat stones at once. However, few people having kidney stones may require more than one operation or surgery to reduce or clear the stones.