Here’s your treatment for Kidney Stones
Treatment for kidney stones is based on their size, location, and what they are made of. Kidney stones that are small enough to pass through the urinary tract can be flushed through the urine in 1 to 2 days. A Kidney stone clinic in Chennai recommends specific remedies and medicines to ease the symptoms of pain and discomfort while passing a stone. Such recommendations include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to help with pain, drinking fluids in plenty, anti-sickness medicine, and alpha-blockers that help the stones to pass. Larger kidney stones or stones that block the urinary tract or cause significant pain while passing usually need urgent treatment. Treatment for kidney stones that are too big to be passed naturally involves stone removal by surgery. Kidney stones can be broken into pieces and removed through various procedures depending on the size and location of the stones.
Stone removal is the best treatment for kidney stones
kidney stone surgeries recently involve minimally invasive techniques that do not require a hospital stay. Traditional or “open” surgery is rarely performed to treat kidney stones. Minimally invasive surgery is the best treatment if stones are lodged in the ureters. If the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder and the kidney stones are large, it can be harrowing since the stones cause obstruction. The main types of procedures for treating kidney stones are:
– Shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) involves high-frequency sound waves focused on the region where the kidney stone is located. Ultrasound shock waves sent from the machine blast the stone into smaller pieces that can be passed easily through the urinary tract. The procedure is usually carried out under sedation as SWL can be an uncomfortable form of treatment. More than one session of SWL may be needed to treat kidney stones successfully.
– Ureteroscopy is a procedure where a thin telescope called a ureteroscope is inserted through the urethra, into the bladder, then into the ureter and kidney. The stone may be gently removed using another instrument, or laser energy may be used to break up the stone into small pieces so it can be passed naturally through the urine. The most common technique of ureteroscopy used by the best urologist in Chennai is Holmium laser lithotripsy. A small laser fibre is passed through the ureteroscope to break up and remove the stone fragments. This technique is typically performed without any incision, as an outpatient procedure done under spinal or general anesthesia that allows the patient to go home that same day.
– Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is a surgical procedure mainly reserved to treat kidney stones larger than two centimeters and located in hard-to-reach locations in the kidney or ureters. The procedure requires a small incision made in the back to create a narrow tunnel directly to the kidney. A thin telescopic instrument called a nephroscope is passed through the incision up to the stone, where the large or irregularly shaped stone is pulled out or broken up using laser energy. Larger stones may require additional surgeries in order to remove them completely. The procedure requires general anesthesia, and the patient can most likely go home the day after the procedure and recover in two to four weeks.
After these procedures, a thin, flexible tube called a ureteral stent may be left in the urinary tract to facilitate better urine flow for the stone to pass. Once the kidney stone is removed, the kidney stone or its pieces may be sent to know the type and take appropriate preventive measures to avoid recurrent stone formation.
Treatment for kidney failure
Kidney failure is commonly a result of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that cannot be cured, but treatment can help relieve the symptoms. There are no medicines specifically for CKD, but many of the problems that cause the condition and the complications that can happen as a result of it can be controlled by medicines and lifestyle changes. Associated problems of kidney disease such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol can be controlled by medicines, while lifestyle changes can help stay as healthy as possible. When CKD reaches the stage of kidney failure, the kidneys will stop working, and the urology doctor in Chennai will suggest treatment to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood through dialysis. Dialysis is a treatment to replicate some of the kidney’s functions, which may be necessary for the advanced stage of CKD leading to kidney failure.
There are 2 main types of dialysis:
– Haemodialysis is a method that diverts blood into an external machine, where it gets filtered and then returned to the body. Haemodialysis is usually done about 3 times a week at a hospital.
– Peritoneal dialysis involves pumping dialysis fluid into a space inside the abdominal cavity to draw out waste products from the blood as they pass through vessels lining the inside of the abdomen. Peritoneal dialysis can be done at home several times a day or overnight.
Treatment for kidney failure with dialysis will usually need to be lifelong. The pros and cons of each type of dialysis would be analyzed to know which type would help with the severity of kidney function being compromised.
A kidney transplant is the most effective treatment for kidney failure.
An alternative treatment to dialysis for people with kidney failure is a kidney transplant. A kidney transplant involves major surgery and taking immunosuppressant to stop the body from attacking the donor organ for the rest of life. One kidney transplant from living or recently deceased donors is enough for necessary kidney function. A shortage of donors makes the wait for months or years for a transplant, requiring dialysis in the meantime. The urologist in Chennai assures kidney transplants with very good survival rates at about 90% of transplants effective after five years and, in some cases, even after ten years or more.
