Treatment of Bladder Stones in Germany
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Bladder stones develop in 5% of patients with urolithiasis. Causes may be inflammatory diseases or metabolic disorders that lead to changes in the urine composition and pH levels. Patients with urolithiasis may suffer from unpleasant symptoms, and even in an asymptomatic course of the disease, complications are still possible. It is best to get rid of your stones to avoid them. You can undergo your diagnostics and treatment of urolithiasis at one of the modern Urology Centers abroad. On the Booking Health website, you can find out the cost of treatment and choose the option that suits you best in terms of price.
Content
- Diagnostics of the disease
- Endoscopic procedures
- Percutaneous procedures and surgical interventions
- Why to undergo your treatment abroad?
Diagnostics of the disease
Diagnostics begin with an assessment of clinical symptoms. Patients usually seek medical attention with complaints of difficulty urinating, painful urination, and frequent urination. Sometimes a person notices blood in the urine. The stream of urine can be interrupted with the release of drops of blood at the end of the act of urination.
The main methods for the diagnostics of urolithiasis in urology are ultrasound examinations and CT scans.
An ultrasound scan allows doctors to see stones in the bladder, kidneys, and some stones in the ureter in those parts that are not covered by the intestines. This is usually the very first method of diagnostics used in patients with suspected urolithiasis. However, it is not the most accurate diagnostic procedure, as ultrasound scanning cannot identify the composition of the stones.
A CT scan allows for more precise diagnostics of the disease. The technique allows specialists to see almost all the stones in the bladder, kidneys, and ureters. During the diagnostics, the location, size, quantity, and, most importantly, the density and composition of the stones, on which the choice of treatment option depends, are specified. The composition is used to judge the prospects for the dissolution of stones and also determine the optimal method for their fragmentation.
Endoscopic procedures
In most cases, no open surgery is required to extract the stones. They can be removed through the urethra with the use of endoscopic techniques. Some calculi are too large, so they are fragmented in advance with various energies. The choice of technique for performing this procedure depends on the level of equipment at a hospital, as well as the density, size, and location of the stones.
Lithotripsy can be classified as follows, depending on the method of stone fragmentation:
- mechanical;
- electrohydraulic;
- ultrasonic;
- pneumatic;
- laser.
All methods are effective, but mechanical and electrohydraulic lithotripsy are more often accompanied by trauma to the bladder wall, so they are used less and less in Germany. One of the safest procedures is ultrasonic lithotripsy, but it cannot destroy high-density calculi. In such situations, German specialists resort to pneumatic or laser lithotripsy.
Percutaneous procedures and surgical interventions
Occasionally, bladder stones have to be removed through a skin or soft tissue incision. This treatment option is mostly used in children since their urethra is too narrow, which increases the risk of complications, the most common of which are urethral strictures (cicatricial narrowing).
Below are some of the options for surgical stone removal:
Open surgery. A surgical procedure is performed through an incision above the pubis. Opening of the bladder is required. Doctors can remove stones of any size, including those that are immovable, impacted, or located inside diverticula. Adult men with benign prostatic hyperplasia can simultaneously have their prostate removed. Although the treatment method is very effective, it is excessively traumatic. Therefore, the technique is used mainly in countries with a low level of medicine, and Germany is not among them.
Percutaneous endoscopic lithotripsy and lithoextraction. Surgical treatment in Germany for children is done with a minimally invasive technique rather than an open operation. Doctors make a puncture above the pubis and insert a laparoscopic trocar into the pelvic cavity. Endoscopic instruments are delivered to the bladder through it for fragmenting and extracting stones.
Why to undergo your treatment abroad?
If you have bladder and kidney stones, you can opt to undergo your treatment abroad. You will find top-class medical care at German hospitals. They are equipped with the latest technology, so doctors treat urolithiasis with new methods that are minimally traumatic and effective. There are a few reasons for you to have your treatment abroad. These are the following:
- accurate diagnostics to determine the location, size, and number of calculi in the urinary system, as well as the causes and consequences of their development;
- minimally invasive endoscopic stone extraction techniques;
- advanced stone fragmentation procedures with laser, ultrasonic, and pneumatic techniques instead of mechanical and electrohydraulic lithotripsy;
- a low risk of bladder trauma;
- a low risk of developing urethral stricture and other complications;
- minimally invasive percutaneous procedures for the treatment of bladder stones in children;
- simultaneous stone removal not only from the bladder, but also from other parts of the urinary system, for example, from the kidneys;
- treatment of urolithiasis, as well as other pathologies such as prostate adenomas or bladder diverticula can be done simultaneously.
On the Booking Health website, you can find out the cost of treatment and make an appointment for your treatment abroad at a favorable price. We will select for you a department of urology that specializes in the treatment of bladder diseases and achieves the best results. When you make your appointment through the Booking Health service, the cost of treatment will be lower for you than when you contact a hospital directly. The price reduction is due to the absence of taxes for foreign patients. The specialists from the Booking Health company will handle all the arrangements for your treatment abroad, so you do not have to worry about the organization of treatment yourself and you can fully focus on restoring your health. Once the program starts, the cost of treatment for you will not increase, as you will receive insurance to cover unforeseen medical expenses.
Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board-certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova and Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
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