Lithotripsy: what it is, how it is performed

Metabolism - a complex set of complex processes in the body, and even a small failure in this system leads to health problems. The consequence of metabolic disorders is often the formation of stones in the kidneys and ureters. Contact and non-contact lithotripsy is a unique chance to avoid complicated surgery. During this procedure, the concretions can be crushed with the help of certain types of energetic influence.

How to recognize the presence of kidney stones

Urolithiasis takes a long time to develop and often goes unnoticed, but it manifests itself suddenly and brings a lot of suffering. In addition to metabolic problems Urolithiasis is caused by other causes:

• Improper nutrition.
• Harmful habits.
• Severe working conditions.
• Genetic predisposition.
• Lack of sufficient physical activity.

Urologic pathologies in almost half of the adult population from 25 to 55 years are caused by the presence of concrements in the kidneys. If the particles are quite small - this is not a reason to ignore the situation.

By analogy with pearls from a grain of sand over time can grow a formation of significant size. Small stones, getting into the ureter, can cause severe pain, as well as serve as an obstacle to the outflow of urine.

Along with this, patients have a temperature of up to 38 degrees, general deterioration of health, vomiting and nausea, difficulty in urinating and gas output. The urine itself has an unpleasant odor and a noticeable sediment.

In the old days, doctors massively performed surgical interventions with a long recovery time. Nowadays, an innovative method - lithotripsy - comes to the aid of all those who suffer from Urolithiasis.

Non-contact method of lithotripsy

Remote lithotripsy is a low traumatic method of stone removal. No surgical manipulations - incisions, punctures, introduction of endoscope is not made in principle. The doctor uses special equipment - lithotripter, which forms an acoustic wave. The latter affects the concretion from the outside and crushes it without destroying the surrounding tissues.

If we consider the procedure of lithotripsy in detail, everything happens as follows:

• First, the wave focuses on the dense shell of the stone.
• Deeper and deeper cracks form on the top layer.
• Each subsequent pulse crushes the formation into smaller pieces.
• The crushed fragments are freely excreted through the ureter.
• Complete exit of the nodule is carried out within 6-12 hours.

Contraindications to remote lithotripsy are too dense and large stones.

Contact lithotripsy

Transurethral lithotripsy

In some cases, the concretions have to be directly impacted. A thin instrument, the urethroscope, penetrates through the ureter to the stone, crushes it and removes it as fragments. Importantly, the surrounding tissue remains intact and the characteristics of the stones are irrelevant. As for the destructive power, ultrasound, pneumatic action, laser, etc. are in use.

Percutaneous lithotripsy

With the use of percutaneous technique, it is possible to eliminate large coral kidney stones. The instrument is inserted through the skin in the lumbar region. Many experts note that this option allows the patient to rehabilitate faster, and the effect is equal to open surgery. Both percutaneous and transurethral lithotripsy are performed under general anesthesia.