Lithotripsy is a medical procedure used to treat kidney stones and gallbladder stones. Some kidneys stones are medium in size and hence, can't be eliminated through urination. To crush such medium-sized kidney stones, lithotripsy procedure is used.
Best Lithotripsy (per sitting) Hospitals in MumbaiKidneys play a vital role in eliminating waste products from body. Any type of kidney disorder can lead to accumulation of toxins in body and may cause damage to internal organs. Kidney stones can get stuck in urinary tract and obstruct flow of urine. This may cause bleeding and severe lower abdominal pain. Hence, kidney stones should be treated as early as possible.
Shock Wave Lithotripsy (SWL) procedure is one of the most common technique used to treat medium-sized kidney stones. Anesthesia is administered into the body of patient. Whether local or general anesthesia will be used, depends on the size of the stone and technique used to treat kidney stone. Patient is made to lie on operating table and a cushion filled with water is placed either on abdomen or on lower part behind the kidney. This non-surgical procedure bombards high energy shock waves (pressure waves) from outside of the body targeting only the part where kidney stone is located. These shock waves help in breaking kidney stones into pieces which are then eliminated from the body though urine. To treat larger stones, another procedure may be implemented along with SWL.
Winning point of SWL procedure is that it does not make use of incision to treat kidney stones. Also, the recovery time and hospital stay time is reduced. One has to remain in the hospital for only an hour after the procedure. One has to drink lots of water after the procedure for smooth flushing of kidney stone pieces through urine. SWL is a safe procedure and patients can expect a smooth recovery.