Bladder stones
What are bladder stones?
Bladder stones are hard mineral deposits that form inside the bladder when the bladder is not completely empty of urine.
Stones are usually made up of calcium.
In some people, bladder stones are not noticeable and may pass naturally during urination, but most people will experience urinary symptoms.
What are the symptoms of bladder stones?
Bladder stones can irritate the bladder wall and affect the flow of urine.
Typical symptoms include:
- Lower abdominal pain, sometimes accompanied by pain in the tip of the penis, scrotum, genitals, back, or hips
- Difficulty initiating, maintaining, and completing urination
- Painful urination, either dull or sharp
- Frequent urination, especially at night
- Hematuria, which causes urine to appear red or dark in color
What causes bladder stones?
When urine accumulates in the bladder, chemicals stick together to form crystals that harden over time and form bladder stones.
Possible causes of this condition include:
- Enlarged prostate . An enlarged prostate can compress the urethra, the passageway for urine. Urine cannot be removed from the bladder. Over time, the urine can build up and form bladder stones.
- Neurogenic bladder syndrome . This condition occurs when the nerves that control the bladder are damaged due to spinal injuries or diseases that affect the nervous system.
- Bladder diverticulum . This is a small pouch that protrudes from the bladder wall and serves as a storage area for urine. It can be present at birth or develop after repeated infections and long-term enlargement of the prostate.
- Surgical procedures . People who have had certain types of bladder, ureter, and vaginal surgery are at higher risk of developing bladder stones.
- Foreign objects or stones move down from the upper urinary tract (kidneys or ureters) . These parts can act as a nest (central point or point), slowly becoming covered by chemicals in the urine and forming bladder stones.
What are the risk factors for bladder stones?
These factors include:
- Prostate obstruction
- Repeated urinary tract infections
- Foreign objects such as catheters inside for a long time
- New surgically reconstructed bladder with urinary retention
What are the complications of bladder stones?
Large bladder stones can have a significant impact on quality of life. These effects include:
- Recurrent bleeding
- Repeated urinary tract infections
- Recurrent pain in the lower abdomen or genitals
- Frequent urination
- Blockage of urine flow, causing urinary retention
How to prevent bladder stones?
The most important way to prevent bladder stones is to ensure complete bladder emptying. An enlarged prostate is one of the most common causes of incomplete bladder emptying. Therefore, it is important that patients with an enlarged prostate receive medical and/or surgical treatment.
How are bladder stones diagnosed?
If bladder stones are suspected, your doctor may do urine tests and perform imaging tests. These tests include:
- Urine test (urinalysis) . Blood, nitrites, or white blood cells in the urine may indicate the presence of bladder stones. Low urine pH and urinary tract infections (UTIs) may also be detected.
- Diagnostic imaging . For example, an ultrasound or CT scan can detect bladder stones.
- Cystoscopy . Bladder stones are sometimes discovered incidentally during cystoscopy. However, this technique is not used as a primary diagnostic tool.
How are bladder stones treated?
Usually, bladder stones are treated through surgery.
Treatments include:
- Transurethral lithotripsy . This is the most common surgical procedure to remove bladder stones. A cystoscope is inserted through the urethra into the bladder. The doctor can see and break up the bladder stones using a laser or ultrasound device. The bladder stones can then be washed away.
- Percutaneous suprapubic lithotripsy . This is a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) used to treat large bladder stones in adults and children with small urethras. The doctor will make a small incision of less than 1cm in the lower abdomen to remove the bladder stone from the bladder.
- Open cystotomy . This surgical procedure is rarely used. It is used to remove very large bladder stones or in patients with a severely enlarged prostate. The procedure is similar to percutaneous transpubic lithotripsy, but the open cystotomy requires a larger incision, resulting in a longer recovery time and longer hospital stay.
