Diseases / Bladder Stones

Bladders stones may cause pain after passing urine or frequent urination
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Bladder stones are the materials present in the bladder with a deposition of calcium. They are generally associated with stasis of urine in the bladder particularly in adults. In children in developing countries the bladder stone formation is also related to nutrition. However, this situation is improving in the western countries.

 

Causes for Bladder Stone

1. The most common cause of forming bladder stones is the blockage of the bladder out flow by enlarged prostate or any other conditions like strictures or narrowing of the urethra or urethral opening.
2. Catheterised patients can also carry a risk of forming flaky, soft stones in the bladder
3. Patients with abnormalities by birth in the urinary tract can form bladder stones.
4. Patients who are suffering from neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury carry a higher risk of making bladder stones.
5. Patients who had the surgical procedure to reconstruct the bladder or increase the capacity of the bladder carry a high risk of bladder stones

Treatments Available

Symptoms of Bladder Stones

Patients with bladder stones can present with frequent need to urinate and also have burning or stinging after passing urine. Most of the times stones may not cause any symptoms. Patients who have a long-term catheter can present with repeated blockages of the catheter which could also be a symptom of bladder stones.

How are Bladder Stones treated?

Bladder stones are treated by bladder examination and removal of the bladder stone by bladder washout. If the stones are big, the bladder stones can be crushed by special instruments and  washed out. Rarely very hard large stones may need to be removed by an open operation through the lower part of the abdomen (cystolitholapaxy)