Treatment of Prostate Stones

About the disease

Prostate stones is a process when calcification of the prostate occurs. As a result, a person may develop chronic prostatic pain, although in most cases prostate stones do not manifest themselves in any way. According to Prostatitis.com, approximately 75% of men over age 50 have prostate stones. Having this condition does not mean that a man will develop inflammation or stenosis of the prostate. In fact, prostate stones manifest themselves as pain only when prostate is enlarged due to this condition. Also, prostate stones become painful in the presence of benign prostatic hyperplasia, yet another common prostate condition. Men who are prone to have lower urinary infections may experience certain difficulties and even pain during urination due to prostate stones, although, as it was mentioned before, such complication is rare. In case a man has recurrent infections due to prostate stones and which were not treated with antibiotics after the first flare-up, a man can develop prostatitis, which is a more serious condition.

The cause of prostate stones has not been discovered yet, although doctors have many theories regarding this question. The most common one is that stones appear due to prostatic secretions, which are common for middle-aged and older men. Another common theory suggests that stones form not from the prostatic secretions, but from certain urine ingredients.

Symptoms

• Inflammation of the prostate manifested as pain
• Congestion of the pelvic muscles
• Recurrent infections of the urinary tract
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Lack of appetite
• Low fever

Diagnosis

• During general examination, a doctor performs manual rectal test. This test is usually enough to diagnose prostate stones if they are multiple and of a big size. A doctor can feel if there is enlargement of the prostate. This test is painless.
• Laboratory tests are used to check for the presence of an infection and rule it out as a possible cause of an inflammation.
• A prostate ultrasound is used to examine the prostate more closely, which helps to detect stones of a smaller size and the number of those.
• An X-ray of the prostate can also be a helpful imaging test for diagnosing prostate stones.

Treatment

• Conservative treatment includes prescription of special antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs in case of bacterial infection, which needs to be treated.
• Surgical treatment is the most effective option for eliminating the prostate stones. There are many ways for a surgeon to remove the prostate stones. He can either use endoscopy or laser treatment to remove the stones.

Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Farrukh Ahmed