ARE KIDNEY STONES COMMON IN INDIA?
Yes, kidney stones are very common in India, more so in the rural areas. WHAT ARE THE TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR KIDNEY STONES? The complete approach to stone disease involves treatment of the existing stone and preventive measures against recurrence. The majority of kidney stones pass by themselves through the urinary tract and out with the flow of urine. However pain can be so severe that hospital admission and pain killer medicines are required. Sometimes an open operation is needed to remove stones. Many stones can be removed with endoscopic keyhole surgery i.e. extraction with the aid of telescopes.. Now a new invention, the lithotripter, is available for effective treatment of kidney stones with little pain or discomfort using an intense beam of ultrasound to smash large kidney stones into small fragments. WHAT IS EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK WAVE LITHOTRIPSY (ESWL)? During ESWL the stone is localized using an image intensifier and high frequency shock waves (water pressure) are focused onto
