Kidney & Ureteral Stones
The Procedure
Preparing for the Procedure
- Drink clear fluids for a 24-hour period prior to the date of your surgery (please see attachment 1, Clear Liquid Diet).
- Do not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before the surgery and drink one bottle of Magnesium Citrate (can be purchased at your local pharmacy) the evening before your surgery.
- Aspirin, Motrin, Ibuprofen, Advil, Alka Seltzer, Vitamin E, Ticlid, Coumadin, Lovenox, Celebrex, Voltaren, Vioxx, Plavix and some other arthritis medications can cause bleeding and should be avoided 1 week prior to the date of surgery (Please contact your surgeon's office if you are unsure about which medications to stop prior to surgery. Do not stop any medication without contacting the prescribing doctor to get their approval).
- It is very important that your last urine culture was negative prior to having this procedure. Please call the physician's office at least one week before this procedure to confirm your urine culture results. If you suspect that you may have a urinary tract infection, please call the physician's office immediately.
The Procedure
This procedure has been preformed on thousands of patients worldwide for many years. Typically, the length of the operation is 1-3 hour depending on the exact nature of the procedure. Ureteroscopy is minimally invasive technique using a small telescope placed through the urethra and up to the ureters using visual and x-ray guidance. It is advanced to the location of the stone or area of concern. Usually a spinal or general anesthesia is used. Occasional intravenous sedation may be possible. Your doctor will gently insert the ureteroscope, which is attached to a light source to provide light and a camera to provide an image on a video screen. Depending upon the problem, a variety of instruments can be passed through the telescope to help make a diagnosis or allow for treatment. A liquid will be flushed from the ureteroscope to your bladder allowing the doctor to have a better view.
