How is kidney stone surgery performed?

Kidney stone surgery is a common method of treating kidney stones. Traditional kidney stone surgery involves making an incision in the abdomen to remove the stones, but such surgery is relatively risky, so you need to understand your own situation and choose the correct treatment method.

1. Traditional kidney stone surgery requires making an incision of about 15-20 cm in the abdomen to open the kidney and remove the stones. The operation is risky and traumatic. Because the kidneys need to be opened, it is easy to cause kidney function damage. It is understood that percutaneous nephrolithotomy and lithotripsy technology usually only takes 10-30 minutes to remove kidney stones and other pathological substances with almost no bleeding. The tiny incision after the operation does not require stitches or removal. The patient recovers quickly after the operation and can be discharged from the hospital after an average of about three days.

2. The doctor first makes a small incision about 1 cm long on the patient's right waist. Under accurate X-ray positioning, a thin puncture needle is used to enter the kidney directly from the waist. Then a dilator is used to "open up" a small channel with a diameter of only about 5 mm. Under the guidance of the nephroscope, the lithotripsy rod smoothly reaches the hiding place of the stones through the "channel". The energy generated by the high-pressure gas is transmitted through the lithotripsy rod to quickly break up the stones, and then the crushed stone powder is cleared out with related instruments.

3. Whether the stones require surgical treatment depends on the size of the stones, their location and the patient's specific condition.

Generally speaking, kidney stones with a diameter of less than 8 mm are not considered good if the patient does not have urinary tract obstruction. It can be treated with conservative treatment. That is, drinking plenty of water, using Chinese medicine to expel stones, and exercising moderately can help the stones to be expelled on their own. For those with colic, pain relievers and antispasmodics can be used, and those with concurrent infection can be given anti-infection treatment at the same time.

Traditional Chinese medicine mostly uses clearing dampness and heat, relieving stranguria and expelling stones as treatment methods. It has the advantages of few side effects and prevention of stone recurrence, and is widely used in clinical practice. Commonly used Chinese patent medicines for stone removal in clinical practice include: Urinary Stone-Removing Pills, Stone-Removing Granules, etc. For example, Niushitong Pills are suitable for the early treatment of stone occurrence, promoting stone excretion after various stone surgeries, and stone prevention, and have definite efficacy.

For stones with a transverse diameter greater than 8mm, or stones in special locations, they need to be crushed by minimally invasive surgery first, and then treated conservatively with stone-removing drugs to help expel residual stones.