URINARY STONE

 

                                 

Disorder

                                                                URINARY  STONE

They are hard crystalline mineral materials that stick together to form small pebbles with in the kidney or urinary tract.

Symptoms

Usually kidney stones cause no pain when they are in the kidneys , but they can cause sudden , severe pain when they travel from the kidneys to the bladder .this pain appear at side belly or groin area and the color of urine become pinkish or raddish . These are the most common symptoms of kidneys stone

                                           

Chemical nature

The most common type of kidney stone contains calcium in combination with either oxalate or phosphate (70% of all stones).other chemical compounds that can form stones include uric acid              

Causes(5-10%) and the amino acids cystine (1-3%).kidney stone can also result from infection in the urinary tract known as struvite or infection stones(15-20% of all stones).

The following conditions can lead to develop kidney stones

Hypercalcemia:

It is characterized by high calcium level in the blood that in turn causes high calcium in the urine(hypercalcernia).this condition is also caused in case of hyperparathy roidism (over  secretion of parathormone from parathyroid gland).in such conditions, high calcium level may form stones.

Hyperoxaluria:

It is characterized by high oxalate level in the urine .this occurs due to over-use of tomato and other green leafy vegetables.

Hyperuricemia:

It is characterized by high amount of uric acid.the level of uric acid may rise in gout (genetic disorder) or due to high intake of proteins (meat).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Treatment of urinary stones:

Most of the kidney stones under 0.5 cm can pass from the kidneys but the stones greater than 1 cm are unable to pass .there are two common methods to remove the stones:

A)     Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL):

Lithotripsy is a technique used to break up and remove the stone without surgery. ESWL is used to remove small stones. During this technique, the stone is bombarded with highly concentrated  x-rays or ultrasound waves.these break down the stones in tiny powdered pieces which are removed in urine.

B)     Percutaneous Nephrolithotripsy  (PCNL):

 

This technique is used to remove larger stones during PCNL, a tube is inserted into the kidney to create a tract.A scope is run through the tract to directly observe the stone inside the kidney. Then ultrasound equipment is inserted to break up the stone.the stone is watched through the scope.the stones fragments are pulled through the tract out from the kidney.