The stones cannot be expelled from the ureter. Conservative treatment can be adopted. Patients can drink more boiled water to increase urine output. During urination, the stones are flushed away by urine, helping to expel them as soon as possible. If the condition and physical status permit, patients can also do jumping and handstand exercises, which are also conducive to expelling stones from the ureter. Meanwhile, medications such as atropine sulfate, progesterone, diclofenac sodium, and tamsulosin can be taken as recommended by doctors to relieve pain and assist in stone expulsion. If these methods fail to solve the patient's problem, or if the diameter of the ureteral stones is larger than 6 millimeters and not easily removable, extracorporeal lithotripsy or surgical treatment is required.
1. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL): It is a routine treatment for urinary stones, characterized by non-contact and non-invasive treatment. The treatment principle is to use shock waves to crush the ureteral stones into powder, facilitating their natural expulsion with urine. This technique has a short treatment duration, high stone expulsion rate, and is easily acceptable to patients. It does not require surgical treatment and has a good prognosis.
2. Ureteroscopy and stone extraction: A ureteroscope is inserted through the urethra, passing through the bladder, and reaching the ureter. Stones are then removed using stone forceps or a stone basket. Alternatively, with the assistance of a ureteroscope, a laser lithotripsy machine and ultrasonic ballistics can be used to fragment the stones before removal.
3. Percutaneous nephrostomy drainage: It plays an important role in urology and is a high-level urinary diversion procedure. When extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is used, nephrostomy imaging is performed to locate the stones. Then, percutaneous nephrostomy lithotripsy and stone extraction are performed to prevent stone fragments from blocking the ureter. Percutaneous nephrostomy drainage is an adjunctive means of stone treatment and is sometimes used in other renal surgeries.
4. Open surgery: If the aforementioned treatments fail and there are no surgical contraindications, comprehensive judgment by the doctor may lead to open surgery through the abdomen or waist for stone removal.
