Kidney Stone Essay

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A kidney stone is a solid substance that forms inside the kidney due to elevated levels of particular substances that are present in the urine. When they remain in the urine they usually cause no harm, although when this stone remains in the kidney or the kidney tract, it may become painful and dangerous. These stones are usually brown or yellow and can be all different sizes and shapes , from the size of a grain of rice, or as large as golf ball; being very smooth or rugged. There are several symptoms that may indicate that you have a kidney stone such as bloody urine, pain while urinating, a fever with chills, urine that smells or is cloudy, or sharp pain in lower abdomen or back. These symptoms may continue for an extended or …show more content…

Most likely, if a kidney stone is causing blockage in the urinary tract, the person will need treatment. The majority of the kidney stones are small so they are left untreated and the person must wait for them to pass and a pain medication will be prescribed. One way someone could assist the stone in passing is by drinking a lot of water to help move the stone through the urinary tract, and if unable to drink due to vomiting, then it would be suggested that the person go to the hospital in order to get fluids through an IV. Your urologist can remove the kidney stone and break the stone into smaller pieces if the stone is large and the urinary tract is blocked with treatments such as shock wave lithotripsy and an ureteroscopy. In shock wave lithotripsy, a shock wave machine is used to break the kidney stone and then the small pieces that break off allowing them to pass through the UT. In an ureteroscopy, an uteroscope is used, which is a long tubular tool including an eyepiece, is used to locate the stone and fed up through the urethra and into the bladder ending in the ureter. Once the stone is located, the urologist can then break the stone using laser energy. Another procedure used to remove a kidney stone is a percutaneous nephrolithotomy, in which a wire-thin tool is used, a nephroscope, to locate the stone and remove it, feeding it right into the kidney through an incision made in the

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