Urinary stones or calculi are concretions formed within the urinary tract by the crystallization of one or more substances and can be found anywhere within the urinary tract from the kidneys, ureters, and bladder.
Most often these stones are formed within the kidney and travel down the ureter towards the bladder causing a sudden sharp intense pain towards the groin, commonly referred to as renal colic. The symptoms of renal colic alone are often highly suggestive of passage of a kidney stone. A patient may complain of severe flank or abdominal pain radiating to the lower abdomen or groin area. The pain is often sharp, severe, intermittent, and occurring abruptly. Nausea and vomiting often accompany these symptoms. If infection and obstruction is present, the patient may experience fevers and chills.
Stones can, however, present without any symptoms. Frequent urination or the constant urge to urinate are symptoms that are commonly seen as the stone is passing from the ureter into the bladder.
Management of kidney stones depends on the type, size, location of the stone(s), and presence of symptoms. Surgery may be necessary when:
Before traveling to Cyprus, as part of your surgery preparation you will complete a detailed specific questionnaire, which will allow our doctors to determine your eligibility for chosen procedure.
Ten days prior to your arrival in Cyprus, you will receive all the necessary pre operative instructions, to prepare yourself both physically and mentally for your chosen procedure.
Before your departure your records will be reviewed thoroughly by our surgeon. This includes X-rays and a complete medical and surgical history as well as your specific issues.
PREPARING FOR YOUR SURGERY
After traveling to Cyprus, a new set of X-rays will be taken as well as an in person physical examination.
The surgeon and anesthetist will also go through you medical and surgical issues with you. During this visit, your surgeon will discuss your procedure and answer any questions.
Preparation for the hospital
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you pack and prepare for the hospital and recuperation:
Clothing
Getting dressed in the morning helps you feel better, so be sure to bring some comfortable clothing to the hospital:
Morning of surgery
Bring all your medicines in their original containers with you to the hospital. You will meet with the anesthesiologist. This doctor will talk to you about general anesthesia. This is a controlled sleep while the surgery is being done so you will not feel any pain or remember the surgery. You will have an IV or intravenous line put in to give you fluid and medicine during your surgery. When it is time for you to go to surgery, your family will be asked to wait in the waiting area. Your doctor will talk to your family there after your surgery is done.
RECOVERY AFTER SURGERY
When you wake up after your surgery, you will be in the recovery room. You will stay there until you are awake and your pain is under control. Most patients return to their room after a few hours.
You will have an analgesia pump device to deliver pain medication into your IV or epidural space (in your spine). You will also have compression boots on your lower legs to help your circulation. They will be taken off when you are able to walk.
You will most likely be tired and a bit sore for a few days. You may have pain not only from your incision, but also from muscle soreness in your upper back and shoulders. This is from the positioning in the operating room during the surgery. You will have liquid pain medicine in the hospital and a prescription for pain pills at home.
You may have a sore throat. This is a result of the placement of anesthesia tubes during surgery. Throat lozenges and spray usually help.
Your scrotum may be slightly swollen as well. This will improve after a few days but may continue for a week or so.
You may have stinging and possible trouble initiating the urinary stream, however this will be overcome within the first few days post operatively.
Hospital discharge and home instructions
The recovery course will depend on the extent of your surgery, however normally 1 night hospitalization is necessary.
Before leaving the hospital, our surgeon and staff will help you adjust to recovery in every way possible. You will receive specific instructions and precautions from your surgeon and nursing staff and they will show you safe techniques of simple activities like getting in and out of bed, bathing, going to the bathroom etc.
Prior to being discharged, you will receive the following instructions for care of areas of the body that may be affected by lymph node removal:
You will be able to leave the hospital when you are:
LIFE AFTER SURGERY
These guidelines give you an overview of what you may expect as part of your care after you leave the hospital. Be sure to follow your surgeon’s discharge instructions if they are different from what is listed here:
If you notice sudden swelling contact our surgeon immediately. This will be monitored through blood tests.
Medications
Your medicines: Take the medicines you were taking before surgery, unless your surgeon has made a change.
Your surgeon will order a prescription pain medicine for you after surgery. As your pain lessens, over the counter pain medicines such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be used. They can also be used instead of your prescription for mild pain.
Prescription pain medicines can cause constipation. Your doctor may order a stool softener to prevent this. You should be back to your normal bowel routine in about 2 weeks. If the stool softener does not work, take Milk of Magnesia. If you still are not getting relief, call your surgeon.
FOLLOW-UP
Follow-up after surgery is extremely important and our surgeons at Salus are committed to providing all the post surgical care you need.
