Can Kidney Stones Be Removed Without Surgery?

 

In 20 years of my practice I have been asked so many times that -

Can Kidney Stones Be removed without Surgery?

And my answer is Yes! You can get rid of kidney stones without surgery.

First and foremost is that you have to follow some home remedies and diet changes. It’s not that home remedies will give a complete solution to everyone, so there is another non-surgical procedure to remove kidney stones. The process is Lithotripsy!

In this procedure there is no surgery, no cut and no risk factor compared to other surgical procedures and even you can get it done without hospitalization. In the word, Lithotripsy-Litho means Stone and Tripsy means breaking the stone.

 

How Lithotripsy came into existence?

There was a group of engineers in Germany; they found that there was a pitting kind of micro dents on the metal surface of supersonic airplanes. The engineers started researching about why and how these micro dents are forming. After the research they found that the supersonic plane generates shock waves. Normally these shock waves get disbursed on all sides of the airplane, but whenever there is a sound barrier these shock waves are reflected back on the airplane.

Now when these waves reflect back, it does not damage the entire airplane but only the points where moisture droplets are accumulated. Because of focusing of shock wave leading to micro dents. After research, the very same principle has been used on the human body to break kidney stones.

 

How does Lithotripsy works?

So basically we need to have a Lithotripsy machine. The machine has a shock wave generator head, which is focused on the kidney stones.

Once everything is set, the shock waves are initiated. The shock waves start breaking the stones into smaller fragments and the stones will be eliminated from the kidney through the urine.

 

When is it good to go for Lithotripsy?

Ideally lithotripsy is suggested to patients who have kidney stone ranging from 4mm to 2cm anything above 2 cm may need some other treatment modality unless the stone is soft. We can find out the hardness of the stone by CT scan.

   

How much time does the process takes?

Shockwave Lithotripsy is an outpatient procedure, and you can leave the hospital the same day. Depending on the clinical the number of seating may vary from one to several.

 

Now, you might have questions like if there are any side effects of lithotripsy procedure?

Well, as such there are no side effects but some patients may experience.

• Discomfort

• Pain in the flank

• Bruising

• Nausea

 

What are the advantages of Lithotripsy?

The best thing about lithotripsy is that there is no incision, no surgery; risk factor is very low, as it’s a daycare process, it takes almost no time to recover.

The only thing is that it cannot be suggested in every case; otherwise it’s the best option.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you have any questions regarding Lithotripsy, feel free to contact us. You can also contact us on our social media channels, such as Facebook and YouTube.