Kidney stone: useful tips

Kidney stone: useful tips by Dr Jaswant Singh Question: What are the important causes? Answer: Vitamin A deficiency causing damage to the lining -- urinary epithelium -- decreased uninary citrate, kidney infection (with urea splitting organisms), obstruction to the free passage of urine, prolonged immobilisation as in paraplegia, inadequate water intake, hormonal like hyper parathyroidism, i.e. over-functioning of the parathyrod gland. Q: What are the various of kidney stones? A: Oxalate-mulberry stones (commonest), phosphate (…

…None. Some patients have blood in urine for two or three days and local pain, which is relieved by drugs. They require one or two days' rest at home. Q: What are the results of ESWL? A: The success rate for kidney stones is 85 per cent and ureteric stones is 65 per cent. Results are improving. Incidentally, the procedure is more economical and open surgery is avoided. The writer, a retired Major-General, is a Chandigarh-based urologist.