How Long Do You Stay In The Hospital After Having A Stent Put In
Watch this video, provided courtesy of Boston Scientific Corporation, to learn more. Recovery from angioplasty and stenting is typically brief. Discharge from the hospital is usually 12 to 24 hours after the catheter is removed. Many patients are able to return to work within a few days to a week after a procedure.
When Should I Call The Hospital Or My General Practitioner
- When you have a fever higher than 38.5°C
- When you experience a serious burning sensation when urinating
- When you are unable to urinate
- When you see large amounts of blood in your urine and it does not go away with rest and hydration
- When you continue to have severe pain in your side, despite the use of pain medication
Tell your doctor right away if bleeding or pain is severe or if problems last longer or worsen after you go home from the hospital.
Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic to treat or prevent an infection or to relieve your pain. Report any signs of infectionincluding severe pain, chills, or feverto your doctor right away.
Do You Have To Have A Stent Inserted After Lithotripsy
I have a huge concern with the stent portion of this. After much research on and off the web, it seems out of all patients that have had a stent inserted post lithotripsy, about 80% to 90% of the time it has resulted in extreme pain and discomfort. To me, it seems like this technology is not yet ready for prime time.
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Changes In Your Lifestyle
Even if you have a low risk of forming another stone, your doctor and nurse will advise you to make some lifestyle changes.
Lifestyle changes may include:
- Increasing fluid intake: Drink 2.5-3.0 litres per day to neutralise the pH of your urine
- Adopting a balanced diet with less meat and alcohol and more vegetables and fibre to have normal calcium levels and less intake of animal proteins
- Maintaining a healthy weight and adequate physical activity
Can I Work With A Ureteral Stent
Yes, you can continue your normal activities with a stent in place. Though there may be some physical discomfort, a stent will not physically limit you.
Lifting, or reaching your hands above your head repeatedly may cause bleeding, or worsening bleeding that may already be present. This is related to increased irritation of the stent on your bladder.
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How Long Am I Going To Have The Stent In Place
The length of time the stent will remain inside your ureter depends on the reason it was placed. They should only be removed in the timeframe recommended by your physician, not any sooner or later.
- Pre-stone treatment usually a week or two prior to surgery
- Post- stone treatment
- After a simple ureteroscopy where the stone and any fragments were removed: 2-3 days
- After Lithotripsy : 7-14 days.
What Is A Ureter
A ureter is the tube-like structure that transports the urine from the kidney to the urinary bladder.Ureters run vertically in the mid-part of the abdomen. Typically there is one ureter for each kidney. Some people are born with two ureters to one kidney or two ureters to both kidneys. This is called duplication.
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How Does A Kidney Stent Affect Daily Activities
A patient with a stent can perform most activities with little or no problems. There are some situations, however, where having a stent can affect daily activities. Let us look at some of the activities that can be affected by a stent inserted in the urinary tract.
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Physical activities and sports – Provided the underlying kidney condition and your health allows it, most patients can carry on with various physical activities while the stent is in place. However, some discomfort may be experienced in the kidney area and passing of blood in the urine, especially if sports and strenuous physical activities are involved. Sometimes side effects associated with a stent can make you feel more tired than normal. It is advisable to moderate physical activities while the stent is in place.
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Work activities – Depending on the nature of work, it is possible to continue to work normally with an inserted stent. However, work that involves strenuous physical activities may have to be limited, since it can cause some discomfort. Occasionally side effects, such as urinary symptoms and pain associated with the stent, may cause a patient to feel tired. If the stent causes significant problems, it may be advisable for a patient discuss their situation with their manager and colleagues, so that possible temporary adjustments can be made to the patient’s work schedule.
How Long Does It Stay In My Body
This depends on why the stent was placed and what type of stent was used. Your doctor may recommend a stent for as little as a few days or for 6 months or longer. If you need a stent for several months, it may have to be replaced. Double J stents last 3-6 months, but metal stents are usually used for longer. Nephrostomy tubes and extra-anatomic stents may be more permanent. 6
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What Happens After Bile Duct Stent Removal
After the procedure You need to lie on your right side for at least six hours to reduce the risk of bleeding. To ensure the proper functioning of the stent, you will be frequently assessed for changes in stool or urine color, jaundice, itching and abnormal liver functions, which indicates a narrowing of the bile duct.
What To Expect If You Receive An Ureteral Stent
A ureteral stent is most often used during the treatment of stone and occasionally with other surgery involving the urinary tract.
The experts at Georgia Urology have lots of experience in placing and removing stents, so check out our guide on this common medical procedure below.
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How Long Do The Stents Stay In My Body
It depends on the original cause of the disease process. Indwelling times may range from a few days for relief of ureteral oedema , to the duration of the patients life for maintenance of ureteral patency in obstruction from neighbouring cancer. Regardless of the stent composition, manufacturers usually recommend exchange of stents at 3 to 6 month intervals, and studies have shown that the prevalence of complications increases with longer indwelling times Your consultant will be able to advise you on this.
When Might I Need A Ureteral Stent
Ureteral stents are most often used when you need treatment for kidney stones. The team at Stone Relief Center may insert a ureteral stent if you need a ureteroscopy or when using shock waves or a laser to break down the stones.
In addition to keeping the ureter open so you can urinate, the stent helps tiny pieces of stone travel through the ureter without causing a blockage.
Ureteral stents are not routinely used for everyone having their kidney stones removed. However, chances are youll need a stent if you have an infection when the ureter was blocked by the stone, or if the stones are large. The doctor may also insert a ureteral stent before removing kidney stones if you only have one kidney.
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Placing The Stent Using A Cystoscope
You will need to have a small procedure to have a stent placed in your body. A doctor will use a small camera called a cystoscope. This camera goes up your urethra into the bladder. The doctor finds the ureter and passes the stent through the camera. To remove the stent, a doctor will again use the cystoscope. Removing a stent is another small procedure. 8
Will I Have Symptoms Due To My Ureteral Stent
When you have a ureteral stent, its normal to experience:
- Blood in your urine
- Mild-to-moderate burning during urination
- Abdominal cramps due to spasms in the ureter or bladder
Its not normal to stop urinating or to pass tiny dribbles of urine. You also should not have constantly dark, bloody urine, clots in your urine, severe pain, or a fever. If any of these symptoms develop, contact Stone Relief Center immediately.
If you have questions about ureteral stents, call Stone Relief Center or schedule an appointment online.
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How Can I Prepare
Not all people with bladder cancer need stents. Tumors grow in different places in the bladder. They are also different sizes and stages. It is possible the cancer may not be close to a ureter. If your doctor says you need a ureteral stent, it is likely for a good reason. Your doctor will consider your age, how healthy you are, and what stage of cancer you have to make a treatment plan that is best. Learning about ureteral stents and talking to your doctor are good ways to prepare.
How Is A Stent Removed
Stents can be removed two different ways. Sometimes a string has been left attached to the end of the stent. This string is allowed to come out of the patients urethra . The string can be used to pull on the stent and remove it. If a string is not attached, numbing medication is usually administered, and a small camera called a cystoscope is inserted into the urethra. The cystoscope is advanced into the bladder along with a grasping instrument, which grasps and removes the stent.
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What To Expect Back Home
At hospital discharge, your doctor or nurse will give you instructions for rest, driving, and doing physical activities after the procedure.
Because surgical instruments were inserted into your urinary tract, you may experience urinary symptoms for some time after surgery. These symptoms usually disappear in a few weeks.
Symptoms may include:
- a mild burning feeling when urinating
- small amounts of blood in the urine
- mild discomfort in the bladder area or kidney area when urinating
- need to urinate more frequently or urgently
- pain resulting from an internal abrasion that needs time to heal
Try to drink fluids often but in small quantities. Sometimes a blood clot can cause pain . The urine contains a substance that will dissolve this clot.
If the pain remains despite the use of pain medication, contact the hospital or your doctor.
While You Have A Stent
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Some discomfort is normal. Certain movements may trigger pain or a feeling that you need to urinate. You may also feel mild soreness or pressure before or during urination. These symptoms will go away a few days after the stent is removed.
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Medicine to control pain or bladder spasms or to prevent infection may be prescribed. Take this as directed.
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Drink plenty of fluids to help flush out your urinary tract.
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Your urine may be slightly pink or red. This is due to bleeding caused by minor irritation from the stent. This may happen on and off while you have the stent.
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As with any synthetic device placed in the body, there is a risk of infection. The stent may have to be removed if this happens.
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When To Call Your Healthcare Provider
Contact your healthcare provider right away if:
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Your urine contains blood clots or you see a large amount of blood-tinged urine
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You have symptoms similar to those you had before the stent was placed
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You constantly leak urine
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You have a fever over 100.4°F , or as advised by your health care provider
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You have chills
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You experience nausea or vomiting
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Your pain is not relieved with medicine
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The end of the stent comes out of the urethra
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You experience new or worsening symptoms
How Is It Done
Ureteric stenting can be done in two ways:
- It can be done through the kidneys via a nephrostomy
If you need a nephrostomy tube as well as ureteric stenting, your doctor may do both procedures at the same time. It is done by initially performing the nephrostomy and then using the nephrostomy to insert the stent into the ureters. This process is usually done in a radiology department under Ultrasound and x-ray guidance. General anaesthesia is usually not required for this and the procedure can be performed using sedation.
- It can also be done through the urinary bladder using a camera called a cystoscope or ureteroscope. Your doctor will pass a camera through the water passage and will access the urinary bladder. Once in the bladder, the lower opening of ureters can be seen through which the stent can be passed upwards to the kidney. It is usually done under general anaesthetic and using x-ray guidance in an operation theatre.
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How Long Should Stent Stay In Kidney For Kidney Stones
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When Is A Kidney Stent Used
Although there are different types of stents, they all serve the same purpose. The purpose of a stent is to allow drainage of urine from the kidneys to the bladder, whenever there is blockage of the ureters.
Ureteric Stent is sometimes used in the following circumstances:
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When it is essential to relieve obstruction on a temporary basis, before treatment of the underlying condition is carried out.
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It is not possible to identify what has caused an obstruction and immediate treatment is necessary.
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Following an operation on the ureters. It takes time for the ureters to heal, so stents are used as a temporary measure to prevent obstruction and allow the ureters to heal properly.
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How To Remove Your Stent
Once the stent is removed you will probably experience some pain the next time you pass urine and you may also notice blood in your urine. This is quite normal and it will pass.
Make sure you drink enough fluid to keep your urine a pale yellow colour. This will reduce the likelihood of blood clots in your urine.
If you feel that you are unable to remove the stent by yourself, dont be concerned. Contact Urology Associates and arrange a time to have the stent removed by a nurse.
What Should I Know About Ureteral Stents
A ureteral stent is a flexible, hollow tube thats inserted into one or both ureters. The ureters are the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. A stent is placed in a ureter to maintain the flow of urine.
The top of the stent has a small curl that holds it inside the kidney. Then the stent goes through the ureter and the opposite end curls inside the bladder. Some ureteral stents also have a string on the bottom end that goes through the urethra and is visible outside the body.
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Inserting A Kidney Stent
The procedure for inserting a ureteric stent is relatively straight-forward. A patient is usually placed under general anesthetic before inserting the stent. A special telescope called a cystoscope is then passed through the urethra into the bladder.
The stent is then placed into the ureter and kidney via the opening of the ureter in the bladder. The correct position of a stent is then checked by taking an x-ray.
What Can Cause A Blocked Ureteral Tube
Kidney stones are the most common reason for placing a ureteral stent. Other reasons include stricture , and outside forces such as a tumor pushing on the ureter and causing a blockage.
Inflamed, swollen, or damaged ureteral tubes in need of healing may have a stent placed to keep the kidney draining during the healing process.
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What Can I Do The First Week After Surgery
- Try to drink enough fluids: 1.5 litres daily throughout the day to facilitate urine flow and the spontaneous loss of small stone fragments.
- Try not to have sex within the first week after the procedure to avoid urinary tract infections.
- Eat more vegetables and less meat to have softer stoolthe inner healing process will be helped if you do not have to squeeze when using the toilet.
- Allow your body to rest during the first week after the procedureyou are allowed to lift a maximum of 5 kg and to go for walks. You can start cycling and exercising after this period.