What are the different kinds of kidney stones?
There are four different types of kidney stones based on the chemical involved in the formation and they are as follows calcium oxalate stones (due to inadequate fluid intake), uric acid stones (due to consumption of purine-rich organic meat and shellfish), struvite stones (due to upper urinary tract infections), and cystine stones (rare and hereditary). These stones may stay in the kidney or travel down the ureter. In case they are small they can be spontaneously expelled. It is the stationary bigger stones that cause pain and the stones that travel down the ureter.
What are the symptoms of kidney stones?
- Severe pain on either side of your lower back
- Vague pain or stomach ache
- Blood in urine
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fever and chills
- Cloudy urine with a foul odor.
What are the possible causes?
- Very little water intake
- Too much or too little exercise
- Obesity
- Weight loss surgery
- Consumption of salt or sugar-enriched foods
- Consumption of red meat, and sometimes
- Hereditary causes
Treatment
Kidney stones are removed by most common procedures such as Retrograde Intra-Renal surgery (RIRS) or Per Cutaneous Nephro Lithotomy (PCNL) out of which RIRS is more patient-friendly and convenient in cases of stones of 2-3 cm diameter. Supermini PCNL or micro PCNL is more effective than RIRS (except for pain) in case of kidney stones of <2cm diameter.
Comparison of RIRS and PCNL
Parameter |
RIRS |
PCNL |
|
Invasive procedure & bleeding |
NO |
YES |
|
Safe procedure |
YES |
Comparatively less safer |
|
Complications |
Few |
Many |
|
Safety in patients with . |
|
|
|
Bleeding diathesis |
Safe |
Not safe |
|
Prior stroke or Deep vein thrombosis and are on anticoagulants (blood thinners) |
Safe |
Not safe |
|
Chronic renal failure |
Safe |
Not safe |
|
To remove kidney stones in ectopic (anomalous) kidneys |
No additional procedure required |
Additional procedure required |
|
Recovery |
Fast |
Long time for recovery |
|
Hospitalization time |
Short |
Relatively longer duration |
|
Stone size |
For stones of 2-3cm diameter |
For bigger stones |
|
For Multiple small kidney stones |
Preferred |
Not preferred due to the extent of invasiveness of the surgery |
|
Stone free rates |
Around 73% |
Around 91% |
RIRS is preferable in older men with even mid-sized stones whereas, in patients < 18 years of age and especially in pediatric nephrolithiasis, super mini and micro PCNL are observed to be more advantageous in case of small stones removal. Although PCNL is the preferred treatment with higher stone-free rates as per the recommendation of the European Association of Urology, some experiences endorse that multisession RIRS can achieve the same degree of higher stone-free rates comparable to PCNL, offering more patient compliance than PCNL.
If you have symptoms of kidney stones, consult Kidney Specialists at Park Hospital. They have highly experienced Urologists & Nephrologists. With highly advanced infrastructure and technologies they have comprehensive care for kidney treatment.
