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Laser lithotripsy

Posted , 3 users are following.

Cheetah
Cheetah

I have two kidney stones, one in each kidney, one 10mm, the other 6mm.  I've also got a septated cyst, which is OK at the moment, and two angiomyolipomas (benign, fatty tumours), 5mm and 6mm, again, one in each kidney.

I asked about lithotripsy a few months ago, but I'll be seeing a new urologist shortly and I know that this hospital has a new, up-to-date laser lithotripsy machine.  I wondered if others have had this procedure and how it went, as I think this consultant may want to do something about the kidney stones, particularly the larger one.

 

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Dotcon
    Dotcon Cheetah

    Posted

    Hello Cheetah, Just read your post. Noticed that it's 4 months old. Did you have lithotripsy? Dorothy 

    • Cheetah
      Cheetah Dotcon

      Posted

      Hi Dorothy.  No I didn't.  I haven't got any symptoms - thank goodness - and the new urologist simply asked me if I wanted anything doing to the stones.  Apparently, it was my choice whether anything was done or not.  I'd got an op for arthritis coming up, so didn't really want any intervention if it wasn't necessary.  Having said that, I think my old urologist would have wanted me to have lithotripsy as he had talked about it the last time I saw him.

      Anyway, I'll be seeing the urologist again early next year, after an ultrasound to check on the size of everything, so I'll be asking him what the consequences are if I just leave things.  I'm expecting the stones to have got larger, they certainly have over the years.  I really want to know if, eventually, they will affect my kidney function.

      Are you having lithotripsy yourself?

  • Dotcon
    Dotcon Cheetah

    Posted

    Yes,Cheetah I have had 3 lots of lithotripsy over the last 15 years. Prior to that I had a staghorn calculus removed surgically,30 years ago. I was dreading having lithotipsy,but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. First time,I was mildly sedated. It took about 40 minutes.The next couple of times I didn't need anything and only felt slight discomfort towards the end of the sessions. After a cup of tea,I was fit to go home. I needed to drink  plenty over the next few days and passed a lot of sandy sediment~the shattered stones. I have check ups every 6 months,and a recent scan showed up cysts in both kidneys,which Urologist and GP say are nothing to worry about. Don't know if they're septated or not. My last scan also showed I have malrotated (twisted) kidneys,which,again,are  nothing to worry about. No one has mentioned angiomyolpomas......yet!   Yes,I assume your stones will get bigger,but while they're not troubling you, and it's your choice,I can understand why you want to "leave well alone".All my stones were causing me pain~especially the staghorn,and psychologically by knowing that there were "foreign bodies" inside me~ I wanted them removed ASAP.  It sounds like you've had them a while. Did you have symptoms or was it a chance finding? I see my Urologist next week,so I think I'll ask him about septated cysts!!!!   Dorothy 

  • vincent_96546
    vincent_96546 Cheetah

    Posted

    Laser is the way to go. Ive had the shockwave lithotripsy as well as the laser. Laser by far was the least uncomfortable
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