About Kidney Stones

One of efficient method to removed kidney stones is through percutaneous nephrolithotripsy, but some of us might know this method as percutaneous nephrolithotomy. For common people, those names look very similar, there for lots of them become mislead and thought those names have same interpretation. So what is the different between percutaneous nephrolithotripsy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy?

Before we explore the differences between them, let me explain to you first what is percutaneous nephrolithotripsy is. In medical world, percutaneous nephrolithotripsy usually known as kidney stones removing treatment that will reach the kidney stone through small incision that made by a surgeon at your back in order to remove the stones. The surgeon then will put a hollow tube into patient kidney and a probe through the tube.

In this stage, the differences between those methods are shown. In nephrolithotripsy, the surgeon will breaks up kidney stone and then remove remain fragments through the tube. In nephrolithotomy, the surgeon will remove the stone directly through the tube.

The surgeon need to pushed back the stone that already flow out into the kidney-using small tools called ureteroscope, this step is needed to go through next procedure. These procedures are used more frequently than extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) in order to removing larger stones. Every fragment of the stones must be removed to prevent recurring kidney stones in the future.

Doing this method, the surgeon needs help from anaesthesia either general, regional or spinal anaesthesia for proper procedure. During the practice, a small tube or also called catheter will insert into the patient kidney. It is use to drain urine from the kidney until the kidney heal, since urine contain many toxic material that would harm and trigger unwanted infection.

The surgeon would suggest this method when dealing with condition such as; removing large stones, more than 2cm or 0.8in, kidney stone problem that triggered by an infection called stag-horn calculi or when the urine is blocked out from the kidney. Some doctor and other practitioner think that this procedure is effective for dealing with kidney stones threat that cause agonizing pain.

It is become general in any hospital that kidney stone patient that had pass the surgery should take a rest at least for 2 to 3 days, to let them fully recovered. Most people are able to resume their daily activities within few weeks.

But, also aware that this method also have a risk and side effect, although it sometimes depend on the patient condition and not generally happen on every patient.
The risk is including bleeding, chance of injury to other abdominal organs, holes in the kidney, which is usually could heal without further treatment, or worse is kidney damage that would affects the kidney to function normally.

Compile and re-written based on article by Paul Lehnert
© Healthwise