Cystolitholapaxy Procedure

Just like doing anything in a hurry is bad, urinating in hurry also has some disadvantages. By doing this repeatedly, your bladder is not completely emptied and some urine is left behind. This results in, the minerals in the urine become concentrated and turns into crystals, and form stones in the bladder. These stones usually don’t cause any symptoms and pass out of the body on their own. But sometimes they cause pain and other problems when you urinate. When this happens, you need to get it removed. The procedure to treat bladder stones is called cystolitholapaxy.

A cystolitholapaxy is a procedure to treat bladder stones. In this procedure, an instrument called a cystoscope is inserted into the bladder to locate the stones in the bladder. A laser is used to break the stones into smaller fragments and removed them.

The two types of cystolitholapaxy procedures are transurethral cystolitholapaxy and percutaneous suprapubic cystolitholapaxy.

• Transurethral cystolitholapaxy is a surgical procedure that is most commonly used in adults to treat bladder stones. General or local anesthesia is given during the procedure. The cystoscope is inserted into the bladder through the urethra to remove the stones.
• Percutaneous suprapubic cystolitholapaxy procedure is performed when transurethral cystolitholapaxy is not effective. In this procedure, one incision is made in the lower abdomen, and a hollow tube called a sheath is placed, through which a cystoscope is inserted and stones are removed. This procedure is preferred mostly to treat children because the urethra in children is narrow making it difficult to insert a cystoscope. General anesthesia is given during this procedure.

• The most common complication is UTI which can easily be treated with antibiotics.
• In rare cases, perforation (tearing) of the bowel may happen during the percutaneous suprapubic cystolitholapaxy.
• Delayed scar formation in the urethra
• Bleeding
• Some common complications with any type of surgery include blood clots in the lungs or legs, infections, or bleeding.

The doctor may leave a catheter in the urethra or bladder to drain urine from the body post-operation for 24 to 48 hours.

There could be some discomfort passing urine for a few days after discharge.

You may find a small amount of blood in the urine.

Medications are prescribed for pain relief and discomfort. It may take about 2 weeks to recover from a cystolitholapaxy. You should drink plenty of water.

In case, you develop fever, severe pain while urination, heavy bleeding, unable to pass urine then contact your doctor immediately.

You need to visit the hospital for a follow-up after 3-4 weeks after the procedure. X-ray or a CT scan is done to ensure that the bladder stones are completely removed.

If stones are not successfully removed by cystolitholapaxy then another surgical procedure is performed known as open cystotomy.

Bladder stones may reoccur unless the cause of the underlying conditions is not treated.