How is kidney stone crushing done?

In lithotripsy treatment for kidney stone patients, sound waves are used to break large kidney stones into smaller pieces. Experts also call these sound waves high energy shock waves. The most common kidney stone crushing method that is used to treat patients is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).

The word extracorporeal in the above treatment method means outside the body and here it means the main source of shock waves to break kidney stones. During lithotripsy with shock waves outside the body, a special machine called lithotripter generates the corresponding shock waves. These waves will enter your body and break the stones into smaller pieces.

The ESWL treatment method has been used since 1980 and is still of interest to many specialist doctors and surgeons. After its introduction, this treatment method soon replaced the traditional kidney stone surgery. Lithotripsy treatment method is a non-invasive treatment method that does not need to cut the skin to access the inside of the body. These types of surgeries are usually safer, easier to perform, and the recovery period is much faster than traditional surgeries.

Lithotripsy treatment usually lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. The surgeons and nurses will most likely inject you with a special local anesthetic or anesthetic so that you do not feel pain during the lithotripsy procedure and when your kidney stones are broken by the shock waves.

After the operation, the broken pieces of kidney stones from your bladder or kidney are removed from your body with the help of urine.