Bladder Stones

What is a Bladder Stone condition?

Hard masses of minerals in your bladder are called bladder stones. Crystallization of minerals in concentrated urine causes stones. This is generally seen if you struggle to empty the complete bladder.

If bladder stones are very small in size then they pass without any treatment. But if the size is moderate to large, surgery or medications will be needed.

What is the Treatment for Bladder Stones

In the initial stages or the case of small bladders, drinking lots of water will help pass the stone naturally. 

However, as they are formed due to difficulty in emptying the bladder, additional water might not be sufficient to pass the stone.

Many of the times you will have the stones to be eliminated through other methods.

Breaking stones apart

Anaesthesia or numbing medications will be given in this process. This will make you unconscious and the pain will not be felt during the treatment.

The surgeon will insert a camera into your bladder. This is referred to as cystoscopy. Then Ultrasound, Laser, or any other device will be used to break the bladder stone into small pieces and flush it out.

Surgical removal

In some of the cases, stones formed are large and difficult to break. In this condition, your doctor will recommend surgery for the removal of bladder stones.

If they are caused due to enlarged prostate or bladder outlet destruction then it must be treated at the same time as the surgery.

Percutaneous Suprapubic Cystolitholapaxy

A percutaneous suprapubic cystolitholapaxy is generally performed for treating children, to prevent their urethra damage. It's also sometimes performed on adults having large bladder stones.

Rather than inserting a tube into your urethra, the surgeon will make a small incision in the skin area near the lower abdomen.

Another incision will be then made into the bladder for stone removal. This is performed under general anaesthesia.

Open cystostomy

An open cystostomy is often performed for eliminating bladder stones in men having a large prostate, or if the bladder stone is very large in size. 

It's a similar treatment to percutaneous suprapubic cystolitholapaxy, the only difference is the surgeon will make a much larger incision in the bladder and abdomen.

It might be combined and performed with other types of surgery, such as eliminating portions or all of the bladder or prostate diverticula that are the pouches developed in the bladder lining.

The disadvantage or risk of an open cystostomy surgery is that it will cause severe pain afterwards and will have a longer recovery time when compared to other surgery. But this surgery is required if the size of the bladder stone is large.

After the surgery, a catheter will be placed for a day or two to drain the urine.

What is the Post surgery process for Bladder Stones

After the bladder surgery, you might be asked to visit your doctor for a follow-up appointment where a CT scan or X-Ray will be used to check if all the bladder stone fragments have been eliminated from your bladder.