How to treat 5mm kidney stones?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by a Urologist - Department of General Surgery & Anesthesia - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Kidney stones account for half of all urinary tract diseases. Kidney stones, if not treated properly, can lead to serious complications such as pus, fluid retention, infection, kidney failure and even death. However, many people do not know whether 5mm kidney stones are large or small? How to treat 5mm kidney stones?

1. What are kidney stones?

Kidney stones are one of the most common ureteral diseases today. Kidney stones form due to the deposition and crystallization of minerals present in the urine. There are many causes of kidney stones, the most common of which are unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise and poor water habits. Depending on the time of formation, location and degree of sedimentation, kidney stones will have different sizes.
According to statistics, the rate of women suffering from kidney stones is higher than that of men. Currently, kidney stones often occur in people over the age of 20. However, there are also many cases of 5-year-old children who have had kidney stones.

2. How big is the kidney stone?

Usually, kidney stones with a size of 10mm or more are considered large and cause great health concerns. However, when the kidney stone size has reached about 5mm, you should have regular health check-ups to monitor the stone size and take timely treatment measures. The speed and size of the stone increases quickly or slowly depending on the patient's eating and living habits.

3. Are large kidney stones dangerous to life?

In general, when a new kidney stone is at 5mm, it will not affect health much, so the patient does not need to be too worried. When a new stone is formed, the patient only needs to drink a lot of water in combination with the treatment regimen according to the doctor's instructions, the stone can be eliminated on its own without the need for surgical methods.
However, there are also many cases of kidney stones when they are only about 5mm in size but have irregular shapes, many sharp edges that easily scratch the kidneys, bladder and cause pain to the patient. At this time, although kidney stones have not caused much impact on the function of the kidneys and urinary system, the patient also needs to be closely monitored for timely treatment.

4. Treatment methods for kidney stones are currently being applied at Vinmec International General Hospital

For cases of kidney stones that do not cause urinary tract dilatation complications, the patient can take medicine as prescribed by the doctor. The doctor can prescribe some drugs to dissolve the stones that contain urate or cystine..
If the stone is larger, the patient needs to be treated with surgical measures. Currently, kidney stones can be treated by the following methods:

4.1 Standard endoscopic percutaneous lithotripsy (Standart PCNL)

This is a highly effective, minimally invasive method. This method can completely replace open surgery for all stones > 25mm, especially "coral" stones. Patients will be under general anesthesia, less trauma to the end, less pain, surgery scar < 1 cm, short hospital stay.

4.2 Minimal percutaneous endoscopic lithotripsy (Mini PCNL)

The minimally percutaneous endoscopic lithotripsy method has been successfully applied by Doctor Le Si Trung (Department of Urology - Vinmec International Hospital) in October 2012. With this method, patients will limit bleeding, less bleeding, less damage to the kidneys, hospital stay is only 1-2 days.
In particular, Mini PCNL is very effective for cases of stones from 15 to 25 mm, ureteroscopy or lithotripsy has failed.

4.3 Flexible ureteroscopy (Ureteroscopy)

The doctor will use a very small flexible ureteroscope to pass through the urinary opening, up the ureter, with a soft end into the kidney to access the stone. The doctor will then use a laser to break up the kidney stone. The stones will be sucked out with a ureteroscope. The ureteroscopy method does not cause scarring, reduces pain and shortens the hospital stay.

4.4 Extracorporeal lithotripsy (ESWL)

This is the most gentle method of treating kidney stones, usually applied to stones <15mm, but the effectiveness depends on the density of the stones. The doctor will use shock waves to break up the stone. The fragments of the stone will be expelled with the urine. The lithotripsy method is effective from 55 to 85% and the hospital stay is only 1⁄2 days.
According to doctors at Vinmec International General Hospital, depending on the specific condition and size of the kidney stone, the doctor will prescribe different treatment measures. In addition, to completely treat stone disease, the patient should absolutely follow the instructions of the doctor and take measures to prevent the disease from reoccurring.
Above is information about kidney stone disease and effective 5mm kidney stone treatment methods. If you have any questions, please contact Vinmec's hotline immediately for the fastest response.

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