Jan 18 2009 Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy?

Tomorrow morning we physically begin phase one of preparations for April 6th, the demolition of a 6mm kidney stone in my right kidney. This "little" burr showed up during the Dec 17th CT scan of the abdomen and needs to be taken care of prior to the prostatectomy, the concern is that it could come loose and try to pass during post surgery recovery. The last thing we need is this "little meteor" obstructing the restructuring of the urethra to the bladder while fitted with a Foley catheter for 6-7 days. We consider this a preemptive strike.

So Dr. Jenkins is going to use a little shock and awe, high energy shock waves are passed through the body and used to break stones into pieces as small as grains of sand. Because of their small size, these pieces can pass from the body along with the urine. The patient lies on top of a soft cushion or membrane through which the waves pass. About 1-2 thousand shock waves are needed to crush the stones. The complete treatment takes about 45 to 60 minutes.The key is that he can actually see it on a x-ray and that it resides in the collection area of the kidney otherwise we are going to have to use "the normal channel."

The "normal channel" you know, no man's land, where everything is meant to flow down and out, not up and in. The medical term is Ureteroscopic Stone Removal, for stones found in the lower part of the urinary tract, the doctor may pass a ureteroscope (a hollow tube-like device) up into the bladder and ureter (through the normal channel.) A basket-like device may be passed through the tube to grasp and withdraw the stone.

Although the procedure is fairly common any procedure requiring general anesthesia and a hospital gown make me a bit uneasy.