Thread: Rapidly getting sick of doctors and hospitals......

So, it's now been confirmed (I was holding out hopes...), but I get to/have to go under the knife on Monday...

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Anybody been unfortunate enough to have it? Got any words of comfort? The doctor at the preop warned that this proceedure frequently needs significant "pain Management." I'm not afraid of pain, but the warning does have me a little spooked.

percutaneous nephrolithotomy

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is a technique that may be used to remove stones from the kidney or upper ureter. It avoids the morbidity of an open procedure.

A needle is passed through the skin into the renal pelvis under ultrasound or radiological guidance. A guide-wire is then threaded through the needle into the kidney to create a track. Using graduated dilators, the track is then enlarged to a diameter of approximately 30 mm. The stone may then be removed immediately or following drainage for 48 hours with a nephrostomy tube.

Small stones can be removed through the nephrostomy track under direct vision using special nephroscopes and a variety of grasping instruments. Stones larger than the tract must be fragmented prior to removal, either with ultrasound or electrohydraulic probes.

That sucks man, good luck.