Kidney Stone Removal Without Surgery

Kidney stones are hard crystals of minerals and salts that form by sticking together inside the kidneys. The size of kidney stones can vary from a seed to a pearl or even larger. It can obstruct the urine flow and cause infection, kidney damage or kidney failure.

Treatment for kidney stones

Most kidney stones can be treated without surgery. Kidney stones can pass by itself through the urinary tract but may cause severe pain. The pain caused by a kidney stone may differ in intensity when shifting to a different location.

Kidney stones can be easily melted by medication and therapy until the size of the stones are very large that can't be removed or crushed with other treatments. In this case, surgery might be the only option. Find the best treatment of kidney stones in Bangalore.

Following are some ways to treat kidney stones without surgery:

• Medications

Some specific types of kidney stones like uric acid stones can be dissolved with the help of medications. Medications are used to make stones easy to pass through urine.

• Drink a lot of water

Some kidney stones are formed by an infection because of not drinking enough fluids or water. Drinking plenty of water is one of the best ways to prevent and treat kidney stones. It helps ease the passage or slow the growth of stones in the kidneys.

• Home remedies

Several home remedies are present to cure kidney stones. The purpose of these methods is to dissolve kidney stones in the urine and pass it out from the body.

But it is always recommended to consult with your doctor first as you may be allergic to some ingredients.

Apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, pomegranate juice, basil and wheatgrass juice etc contain the ingredients that can help prevent kidney stones.

But remember, if you are noticing symptoms of kidney stones, it is always good to see a urologist before taking any medication or therapy. Your doctor may suggest a kidney stone surgery until and unless kidney stones starts coming down and get stuck in the ureter. Larger kidney stones require immediate removal by kidney surgery or even kidney transplant.

Get kidney function tests regularly as sometimes no symptoms are seen for most of the kidney disease. Choose the best treatment and care for your kidneys in one of India’s leading Nephrology-Urology hospitals.

Contact NU multi specialty hospital Bangalore

What happens during a kidney Transplant procedure?

There is a huge need for organ transplants in India. As per a report in India, around 5, 00,000 people have urgent requirements for immediate organ transplantation in order to save their lives from organ damage.

Organ transplantation is considered one of the most crucial achievements in medical history. Different parts of the body that can be transplanted and the laws that govern organ transplantation.

Organ transplantation gives hope to thousands of people suffering from organ failure. There are different types of organ transplants available nowadays like- Heart transplant, Lung transplant, Liver transplant, Pancreas transplant, Cornea transplant, Trachea transplant, Kidney transplant, Skin transplant, Vascular tissues transplant, etc.

Kidney Transplantation/Renal transplantation:

Kidney transplantation is a surgical process of placing a healthy kidney from a donor into the recipient’s body, a patient whose kidneys no longer function properly or having irreversible advanced kidney disease or suffering from end-stage renal disease. This process is also known as Renal Transplantation.

At the time of Kidney Transplantation Surgery, the donor’s kidney is placed into the patient's body and new kidney's blood vessels are connected to the lower abdomen's blood vessels and ureter of the new kidney is attached to the bladder. The new kidney filters blood and starts to produce urine as well. To stop the body from rejecting the new kidney proper medications are given.

Only one healthy kidney can replace two failed kidneys but the compatibility of blood group must be checked before processing for a Kidney Transplant Treatment. 

After the successful procedure of Kidney Transplantation, the graft starts functioning immediately and improves the quality of life that lessens the risk of death than maintaining dialysis lifelong.

Most patients experience that Kidney Transplant Surgery made them feel better as it has given them another chance of spending time with their family, traveling and to pursue their hobbies as well as returning to work. It also saved their time and money spent on various therapies for dialysis.

Patients with Kidney Transplants typically have a longer life expectancy than patients who had to stay on dialysis.

NU Hospitals offer the best kidney transplantation treatment (renal transplants) with comprehensive kidney care post-surgery. It is authorized to perform both kidney transplants as well as cadaveric transplants. NU Hospitals Bengaluru has a team of expert surgeons with international standards to completely take care of your Kidney Transplantation and ensure a healthy recovering.

Find more info to get an appointment.

The Current Scenario of Kidney Transplants in India

Kidney transplant is a procedure done through surgery to replace diseased kidney with a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor. The transplanted kidney takes over the work of two kidneys that failed so that the patient doesn’t need dialysis. During the kidney transplant surgery, a new kidney is placed in the lower abdomen and the artery and vein of the new kidney is connected to the body’s artery and vein.

The current scenario of Kidney Transplant in India

The wait for a new and matching kidney can be very long sometimes. Generally, the transplanted kidneys come from either deceased donors or at times they could come from a family member. About 2 lakh patients in India are waiting for organ donation with a mere 15,000 donors available. However, post 2012, there has been a significant increase in organ donations. The Live Kidney Transplantation Programmed in India has evolved in the past 50 years and is currently the second largest program in numbers after the USA.

In India, the states doing relatively better in terms of transplantations and awareness are from the South Region- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, and Andhra Pradesh. In the North region, however, Chandigarh has done well in terms of donors as per million.

As per the records in the Indian Transplant Registry, it is reported that between 1971 and 2015, a total of 21,395 kidneys were transplanted in India, out of which a mere number of 783 kidneys belonged to deceased donors. The report also predicts that more than 2.5 lakh people suffer from last-stage kidney diseases every year. In that 7 out of 10 patients go for dialysis and nearly 6 out of those 10 can’t continue due to heavy treatment fees. As a majority of patients suffering from kidney disease come up at the send stage, dialysis and kidney transplant become the only option.

Backed by the world-class facilities and technologies, Nu Hospitals provide quality medical services for people who are suffering from kidney and urological diseases, with a special focus for medical tourism patients.

Prostate Cancer Symptoms, Treatment, Causes & Stages

The prostate is a gland of the male reproductive system. It is located in front of the rectum and just below the bladder. Its main function is to produce fluid for semen, which transports sperm.

Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that begins most often in the outer part of the prostate. It may spread to the inner part of the prostate and beyond the prostate to other parts of the body.

Who gets prostate cancer?

Most men who get prostate cancer are above the age of 50 years and the risk increases with age. Other risk factors are family history and smoking

What are the stages of prostate cancer?

Stage 1

The doctor is unable to feel the tumor, but has been found during TUR-P or was found by needle biopsy that was done for elevated PSA

Stage 2

The doctor can feel the tumor by rectal examination and it appears confined to the prostate gland.

Stage 3

Cancer has spread beyond the prostate to nearby tissues like seminal vesicles

Stage 4

Cancer has spread to other organs like bladder, rectum, the pelvic lymph nodes or to distant parts of the body, most commonly to the bones.

How is prostate cancer treated?

Your doctor may use one or more of the following methods – surgery, hormone treatment, radiation and anti-cancer drugs. The choice depends on the stage of the cancer, your age and other medical co-morbidities.

Radical prostatectomy is used to treat cancer localized in the prostate and involves complete removal of the prostate. Often the pelvic lymph nodes are removed as well.

Radiation therapy uses high energy x-ray beam to kill cancer cells. Radiation may be given from a machine located outside the body (external radiation therapy), or from a radioactive substance introduced directly into the tumor. Sometimes a combination of these methods is used.

Both surgery and radiation provide excellent 10-year survival rates. Your doctor can help advise you about the best treatment for your kidney cancer.

Hormonal therapy is used to treat prostate cancer which has spread beyond the prostate. The 2 basic techniques involve:

• drugs that prevent the release or counter the action of male hormones
• surgical removal of the testicles, which make the male hormones. Because male hormones stimulate the growth of prostate cancer, treatments that interfere with the effect of these hormones can slow the cancer’s growth, sometimes dramatically. Occasionally, chemotherapy is used.

NU Hospitals provide the cutting-edge prostate cancer surgery and treatment in Bangalore, India. We also provide Kidney transplant surgery.

How are Diabetes Mellitus and Kidney Related?

Diabetes Mellitus (DM), the commonest form of diabetes can affect kidneys in several ways – it can predispose to urinary tract infection, it can cause the reduced blood supply to the kidney by narrowing of the blood vessels supplying the kidneys and it can cause the death of a part of the kidney called papilla. Most importantly it can interfere with the function of filters within the kidneys (called glomeruli) resulting in progressively increasing protein leak in urine (proteinuria) and irreversible loss of kidney function over a period of several years (diabetic nephropathy). All these effects can lead to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Rest of the discussion will focus predominantly on diabetic nephropathy as it is the commonest kidney involvement in DM.

How common is kidney failure due to diabetes mellitus?

DM is the commonest cause of CKD all over the world (and in India too). Around one-third of patients on dialysis for CKD have DM; also one third of patients having DM develop CKD.

How long does it take to cause kidney disease?

DM takes a minimum about 5 – 7 years to affect the kidney. The diagnosis of DM may be delayed if it is silent or not associated with the symptoms at the beginning; often we see patients with shorter duration of DM developing CKD related to DM.

What are the symptoms of kidney problem in a diabetic?

The early symptoms of kidney involvement in a diabetic patient are froth in urine and swelling of face, legs and abdomen. With worsening in kidney function, patients may have reduced urine output, increase in blood pressure, and loss of appetite, vomiting, tiredness, breathlessness and frequent episodes of low sugar (hypoglycemia). BUT PLEASE BE AWARE that the kidney involvement in a diabetic patient can be silent and all patients with DM should undergo periodic screening for urine and blood testing for proteinuria and serum creatinine. Diabetic eye disease (Diabetic Retinopathy) is invariably associated with diabetic nephropathy and patients who have diabetic retinopathy should undergo urine and blood tests for kidney disease.

How do you detect kidney damage?

Normally there is no protein leak in urine and the routine urine test will report this finding as nil or trace protein; DM over a period of years can cause closure of capillary loops within the filter units resulting first in progressively increasing proteinuria and subsequently progressive reduction in kidney function (kidney function can be calculated with certain mathematical formulae that require estimation of serum creatinine). It is possible to diagnose kidney involvement in DM at the earliest stage by doing urine test for microalbumin – this test will detect the presence of smallest quantities of albumin (a form of protein) even before routine urine test can detect its presence in urine.

What are the treatment options available once severe kidney failure happens?

Dialysis and Renal Transplantation are the available treatment options for patients with advanced CKD. There are two forms of dialysis: Hemodialysis (HD) and Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD).

Things You Need to know About Thyroid Cancer

Your thyroid is in the shape of a small butterfly, and is usually found inside the lower front of your neck. It’s a gland that controls your metabolism. It also releases hormones that direct many functions in your body, including how your energy is used, how you produce heat, and how you consume oxygen.

Thyroid cancer develops when cells change or mutate. The abnormal cells begin multiplying in your thyroid and once there are enough of them, they form a tumor.

Types of Thyroid Cancer

Four types of thyroid cancer have been identified:

• Papillary thyroid cancer
• Follicular thyroid cancer
• Medullary cancer
• Anaplastic thyroid cancer

What are the symptoms?

If you have thyroid cancer, you probably can’t trace any signs of it in the early stages. Some of the symptoms of thyroid cancer are:

• Neck, throat pain
• Lump in your neck
• Difficulty swallowing
• Vocal changes, hoarseness
• Cough

Inherited genetic syndromes: Some conditions, including cancer, come from the DNA you get from your parents.

Iodine deficiency: If you don’t get much of this chemical element in your diet, you could be at more risk for certain types of thyroid cancer.

Radiation exposure: If your head or neck was exposed to radiation treatment as a child.

Is it treatable?

Thyroid cancer treatment is usually very treatable, even if you have more advanced stage of it. That’s effective treatments that give you a great chance for a full recovery. And surgery, when it’s needed, can sometimes cure it. At NU Hospitals, you will be well diagnosed under the supervision of some of the best thyroid surgeons with the right kind of thyroid cancer treatment.

Recovery Tips for Kidney Transplant Patients

After returning home, you want to resume ‘normal living’. If you feel like going for a movie, or any social occasion, DO IT! If you’d like to have friends visit you at home, that’s OK too! Try as much as possible to return to your normal routine.

However, the key is moderation and measuring your limits. Initially, you might have less energy but with time your body will heal and adjust to your new medications. There are also many things you should consider in your life after kidney transplant surgery that involve taking care of your new kidney.

Diet and exercise

If you were on dialysis before your transplant, you will notice a difference in what you can eat and drink once your new kidney has been transplanted. You will still need to eat foods low in salt and fat to prevent high blood pressure, and if you have diabetes, you need to watch your blood sugar. Exercise can help improve your heart and lung health, prevent weight gain, etc.

Anxiety, depression and mental health

Getting a kidney transplant isn’t a cakewalk, it’s normal to undergo all kinds of emotions afterward. If you’re experiencing feelings of anxiety, depression or guilt, please don’t consider yourself alone, many transplant patients experience these feelings at first, for many reasons.

• Mood changes may be a side effect of the immunosuppressant medicines you are taking.
• You may also feel stressed or anxious about your new lifestyle.
• Your family members may also have emotional changes as they also have to adjust to your new lifestyle.

Returning to work

If you are planning on going back to work, your transplant team may advise you to wait three to six weeks after your surgery. You will also be given certain limits on what you should do.

Keeping your new kidney healthy

To keep yourself healthy, and to make sure your new kidney works well, follow the below points:

• Take your immunosuppressant and other medicines exactly how your doctor will advise you.
• Know the signs of infection and contact your kidney transplant doctor immediately.
• Avoid being around people who are sick.
• Drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated.
• Consume foods that are low in salt, fat and cholesterol.

Consult at NU Hospitals because it offers one of the best kidney transplant surgeries in Bangalore.