Sometimes, the stone is not completely shattered, and additional treatments may be needed. The shattered stone fragments may cause discomfort as they pass through the urinary tract. Most patients have some blood in the urine for a few days.

What are some complications or side effects? Oral pain medication and drinking lots of water will help relieve symptoms. Some pain may occur when the fragments pass, which begins soon after treatment and may last for up to four to eight weeks.

Special diets are not required, but drinking plenty of water helps the stone fragments pass. Many people can fully resume daily activities within one to two days. What can the patient expect after treatment?Īfter treatment is complete, the patient can move about almost at once.

In some cases, lithotripsy may be done on an outpatient basis. Usually, patients are hospitalized for a day or two. Does the patient need to be hospitalized? In general, some type of anesthesia-either local, regional or general-is used to help the patient remain still and to reduce any discomfort. In addition, stone fragments are occasionally left in the body and additional treatments are needed. Unfortunately, not all types of kidney stones can be treated this way. As a result, complications, hospital stays, costs and recovery time are reduced. The main advantage of this treatment is that many patients may be treated for kidney stones without surgery. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this treatment? The complete treatment takes about 45 to 60 minutes. About 1-2 thousand shock waves are needed to crush the stones. In the second, more common method, the patient lies on top of a soft cushion or membrane through which the waves pass. Using x-rays or ultrasound to pinpoint the location of the stones, the body is positioned so that the stones are targeted precisely. In one method, the patient is placed in a tub of lukewarm water. There are two ways to remove stones using shock wave treatment. Because of their small size, these pieces can pass from the body along with the urine.

Instead, high energy shock waves are passed through the body and used to break stones into pieces as small as grains of sand. What is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy?Įxtracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is a technique for treating stones in the kidney and ureter that does not require surgery.

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