What are kidney stones and what is the process of removal? Doctors and scientists refer to kidney stones by multiple names. Some of the most commonly used phrases include renal calculi, urolithiasis, and nephrolithiasis. Kidney stones refer to mineral and salt deposits that solidify inside the kidneys and obstruct the urine flow leading to kidney damage. Since proper excretion doesn’t occur, kidneys experience massive damage due to urine pooling inside the canals.

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A range of factors such as obesity, supplements, high-profile medications, and diet deficiencies can cause kidney stones. Once kidney stones form, they can damage nearly any part of your urinary tract. That means your urinary tract extending from the kidneys to the bladder can suffer various issues and problems leading to massive discomfort. Once the minerals start to stick together, they crystallize and solidify to become stones.

It’s not possible to easily pass kidney stones with urine, and holding them inside the kidney canals is quite painful, as most patients claim. Therefore, you must acquire the best treatment methods at the right urological health institute near you to remove kidney stones as quickly as possible.

Kidney Stones: Staghorn Calculus

The term “staghorn kidney stone” and “staghorn calculus or calculi” emerged from the shape that very large kidney stones take when they haven’t been dealt with on time through effective treatments. A staghorn calculus refers to a large kidney stone that takes more than a single branch of the collecting system inside the kidney’s renal pelvis. This also affects the urinary tract on a massive scale since the said tract begins from the kidneys.

Urine forms in the kidneys when the kidneys remove waste matter and excess water from the blood. Once enough urine is collected inside the renal pelvis, it starts to travel through each ureter (a tube) in each kidney towards the bladder. Consequently, the bladder keeps collecting the urine until it’s full, after which the nerves signal the brain, and the urge to urinate is produced.

But, when stones form in the kidneys, urine collection becomes difficult and painful. Note that the urinary system is the same in both men and women, but the urethra is longer in men due to the encirclement of the prostate-staghorn calculus forms in the renal pelvis leading to difficult urine flow towards the bladder.

Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy

It’s a procedure aimed at kidney stone removal from the body. Keep in mind that very small kidney stones can, quite painfully, pass through the body via urine flow. However, some kidney stones are extremely difficult to pass from the body through urine, so surgery becomes essential. If the kidney stones aren’t removed, they can cause a range of kidney issues and problems. For your information, large kidney stones damage the kidney walls canals and may even result in kidney failure.

Also, the percutaneous nephrolithotomy procedure is recommended once the alternative treatment methods fail.

The Procedure

The procedure can take place on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. It’s best to see a professional urologist with surgical skills and years of experience in handling various kidney health issues and diseases. When the kidney stones become so large that they become resistant to other treatment methods, urologists recommend the patient to go under the complicated percutaneous nephrolithotomy procedure.

The procedure can last as long as 3-4 hours. The surgeon begins by giving the preferred type of anesthetic to the patient. Following that, the urologist uses X-ray guidance to insert a fine tube inside the small incision made around the flank area of the patient. Once the tube is entered and it reaches the desired location on the kidney (the one with stones), the surgeon will insert a small telescope through the tube.

The telescope helps in visualizing the internal kidney condition and highlights the kidney stones on video feed through advanced equipment. Using extremely fine surgical tools, your urologist will break down the kidney stones and remove them from the body.

In some cases, surgeons also opt for laser therapy, also known as lithotripter, to help in breaking down kidney stones into smaller pieces for easier removal. Post-procedure pain occurs very rarely, and most surgeons only advise a short-hospital stay so that they can monitor the patients’ immediate recovery.

After-Procedure Results

Once the kidney stone surgery is complete, the doctor will schedule several appointments, which will generally be within 4-6 weeks post-procedure. The doctor will use ultrasound and/or X-rays to monitor kidney health and provide insight on the urine flow that’s taking place after kidney stones’ removal. If any issue is detected, the doctor will recommend further solutions as well.

Kidney Stones & Removal: Conclusion

Are you struggling with kidney stones? Is your lifestyle getting hectic and difficult due to kidney stone-associated complications? At Fifth Avenue Urology, we help solve all health complications related to urological disorders and diseases. Dr. Yaniv Larish MD and Dr. Leonard Glickman MD are the top two choices among the best urologists in NYC. We provide healthcare where both doctors work in harmony to serve  patients with kidney stones and other urological health problems.

Make an appointment today and get specialized consultation from Dr. Larish or Dr. Glickman. Give us a call at 212-675-3186 to learn more about our services and consultation.

People who are living with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) will probably have kidney stone issues. The formation of kidney stones takes place when crystals of minerals and salts combine in your urine. You can also call them renal calculi or nephrolithiasis. The size of kidney stones can vary, it can be a small particle or a large stone created from many small ones.

However, they can relocate themselves into the ureter and bladder. A ureter is one of the two tubes between the two kidneys leading to your bladder. Kidney stones are particularly common in patients who have ADPKD.

Approximately 3 out of 10 patients with this kidney disease have kidney stones once in their life. In the general population, almost one out of ten people get kidney stones in their lifetime. You can get kidney stones as your Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) progresses.

The size and location of your kidney stone will decide the appropriate treatment for you. Small stones often pass through your urine and do not cause much discomfort. But larger stones possibly will cause blood in your urine, severe pain, or a blockage.

Due to that, it will be quite challenging and painful for you to pass urine. Also, you may require a procedure that involves the splitting of a large stone into small particles so that you can pass it, or you can have surgery to eliminate it.

In case your kidney tests show stones and their cause is particularly mineral or salt, you must consult your doctor so they can tell you to avoid certain foods. They may also prescribe you some medications or supplements to cure your urination problems.

Prevention of Kidney Stones

Passing a small kidney stone or its particle in urine is quite painful. The best way to avoid this pain is prevention. Follow the methods given below to prevent kidney stones from forming.

• Stay hydrated and drink 8 to 12 glasses of fluids per day – avoid carbonated drinks.
• Add fresh lemon juice with your water drinking routine.
• Avoid salt and cut it down to a healthy level.
• Consume an average amount of calcium (so, have a healthy diet but don’t use calcium supplements)

Causes of Kidney Stones

There is no single or definite cause of kidney stones, but many factors can increase your risk of having kidney stones. As discussed above, a kidney stone will form when your urine holds more crystal-forming substances; for example, uric acid, calcium, and uric oxalate acid.

In Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) patients, the flow of urine through the kidney is relatively slow, which may increase the probability of the formation of kidney stones. We recommend you to avoid taking advice and suggestions from non-professional people around you. If you want to find out what lifestyle choices have caused you to have kidney stones, get in touch with us so we can guide you better.

Treatment of Kidney Stones

In some of you, the stone possibly will pass without any medical interference if its size is small. However, if the stone is larger than 0.5 mm, you must seek medical treatment.

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You can also utilize medications to boost the passage of stones all the way through the ureter. These medications contain calcium channel blockers alpha, corticosteroids, and adrenergic blockers.

You can use lithotripsy to break any kidney stone into tiny pieces so that it can easily pass through your urinary tract. Lithotripsy applies high energy pulses of ultrasonic energy and delivers shock waves through your skin with no incision. As for tiny stones, you only need one treatment. But for larger stones, you might need several treatments.

Some surgeries might require treating kidney stones when there is a complete blockage of the ureter or when there is an infection or intractable pain. In ureteroscopic surgery, your surgeon has to insert a camera inside the urethra to visualize the stone.

Once the surgeons have clear visualization, they can easily extract the stone. They put a stent inside the blocked ureter and break the stone with the help of laser or ultrasound shock waves. The choice of the procedure depends on the size, location, and composition of the stones.

Conclusion

Kidney stones can cause intolerably excruciating pains, and things can get even worse if you don’t contact a doctor as soon as possible. Doctors know number of surgical techniques to remove kidney stones.

If you seem to have symptoms of kidney stones or someone you love is suffering from a similar condition, contact us at 212-675-3186

FIFTH AVENUE UROLOGY
4 East 76th Street
New York, NY 10021
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212-675-3186