Have you had stones? Do you know how painful stones can be? For many, it is just awful, and it becomes an emergency situation. Stone disease is one of the most painful urological disorders. More than a million kidney stone cases are diagnosed each year, with an estimated one out of ten people expected to suffer from a kidney stone at some time in their life.
This is where Z Urology in South Florida comes in to save the day. Let our team diagnose and treat the problem. There are three ways we tackle kidney / bladder stones. But first, what exactly are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are solid pieces that form when substances normally found in the urine, such as minerals and acid salts, become concentrated and crystallize. A stone ranges in size from a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. It may remain in the kidneys or travel down the urinary tract into the ureter. Small stones typically pass on their own, causing little or no pain. However, larger stones get stuck along the tract and block the flow of urine, resulting in intense pain, bleeding, or both.
Anyone can develop kidney stones, but those that are MORE LIKELY include:
Men
Overweight individuals
Those with a family or personal history of kidney stones
Dehydrated individuals
People who maintain diets high in protein, sodium, or sugar
Individuals with certain bowel conditions, such as chronic diarrhea and Crohn’s disease
Gastric bypass surgery recipients
So how does Z Urology get rid of kidney stones? There are three ways of treatment. All involve some form of lithotripsy. If you are not sure what that is, let’s read further.
What is a Lithotripsy
Lithotripsy is a medical procedure involved in removing kidney / bladder stones through the use of different processes. Through the lithotripsy procedure, these stones are broken down through the use of laser or shock waves.
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL)
This is the most common form of removing a kidney or bladder stone. The procedure involves using shockwaves that come from outside of the body. Z Urology will target the area where the stone is and begin breaking it into smaller pieces. This is a non-invasive procedure. Once the stones have been broken down into a “dust,” they may travel through the urinary tract without much issue. Sometimes the stones may still be slightly too large and further treatment may be required.
Laser Lithotripsy
Laser Lithotripsy is a minimally invasive form of kidney/bladder stone removal. This procedure involves the use of a ureteroscope. This acts as a camera for your urologist. He uses this camera to navigate through the urinary tract into the ureter or kidney. Once inside, he will locate the stone. If necessary, a stent will then be placed within the ureter to protect it as the stones pass through. Once the stones have completely passed, your urologist will remove the stent. This usually takes a few days to a couple of weeks for the process.
Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy
Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy is another form of lithotripsy. This procedure is required when the stones are just too large for other procedures, there were remaining stones after an extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, or if the kidney stones are damaging the area where they are present.
If you are in need of a urologist in South Florida that can help you deal with kidney / bladder stone pains or concerns, then contact Z Urology for a team that is dedicated to delivering world-class expertise in urology, along with an unwavering commitment to their patients. Our three locations to choose from are located in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Pompano Beach.
You can go to the website directly and set up an appointment or you can call 954-714-8200. Either way, you contact, you will be setting up to see the leading urologist office in all of South Florida. With an extremely talented and professional staff of doctors and more, you are in truly good hands with the doctors and nurses at Z Urology. Z Urology is your leader in urological care. Go ahead and call now!
When looking up who the leading urologists are in Coral Springs, Florida, there really is only one answer. As a matter of fact, when looking up the leading urologist in all of South Florida there also is only one answer. If you need a hint, the answer is Z Urology! So how did Z Urology become the leaders?
Z Urology was founded in 2005 by Dr. Michael P. Zahalsky. The offices have grown adding amazing doctors Mini Varghese, MD, Christopher Hollowell, MD, FACS, MD, Michael Tyler, MD and Laurel Sofer, MD along with a team of dynamic Physician Assistant’s. Z Urology prides itself on providing “state of the art” urologic care to South Florida with a focus on both male and female urology. The practice specializes in all urologic procedures specifically minimally invasive methods. Z Urology’s goal is to provide exceptional urologic care, tertiary academic medicine to our South Florida community.
Dr. Z recognizes the importance of the patient / provider relationship. Z Urology strives to provide patients with a top-quality, comfortable experience whether in the office, the hospital, or the skilled nursing facility. They recognize the importance of communication and meeting the needs of all patients. In doing so, the staff speaks a variety of languages that include English, Spanish, and Creole.
Did you know that Z Urology always has one of our practitioners available to patients via on-call phone access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? The practice is completely electronic, including the medical records system and there is access to each patient’s medical history if needed.
What Services Does the Leading Urologist Offer?
There are many services that Z Urology and it’s doctors offer to those in need in Coral Springs, Florida. Services (and treatments) include:
Please keep in mind that Z Urology, the leading urologists in South Florida, not only specialize in all of these procedures, but also in the brand new cutting edge Rezum Procedure, but also specializes in all urologic procedures, specifically, minimally invasive methods. Procedures include bladder issues, erectile dysfunction (ED), prostate issues, urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction, stone disease, male infertility, pyeloplasty, Peyronie’s disease, and ureteral reimplantation.
If you are in need of a urologist in South Florida, then contact Z Urology for a team that is dedicated to delivering world-class expertise in urology, along with an unwavering commitment to their patients. Our three locations to choose from are located in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Pompano Beach.
If you are suffering in any way from any of these issues, now is the time to make an appointment with Z Urology. If by chance you can not make it in right away, you also have the option of a telemedicine visit.
Telemedicine visits are available to all patients, new and established. Please keep in mind that you must first call the office at 954-714-8200 to schedule an appointment. You cannot click on the telemedicine link and enter the waiting room unless you have a scheduled appointment.
Also, to avoid unexpected charges, it is recommended that one calls their health insurance provider prior to booking to ensure that Telemedicine Visits with your Urology provider are a covered service. Otherwise, you may receive a bill for the service cost.
Lithotripsy is a medical procedure involved in removing kidney / bladder stones. There are multiple different kinds of lithotripsy. Your main three types are going to be Laser Lithotripsy, Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy or Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy. All of these methods are doctor-certified procedures that will return you to your normal life without kidney stones. The goal of most lithotripsy procedures, is to break down the kidney stones to a small enough level to either have them removed or small enough to pass down through the urinary tract and exit the body.
What are Kidney Stones?
Kidney stones are solid pieces of material that form when substances normally found in the urine, such as minerals and acid salts, become concentrated and crystallized. Kidney stones may range in size from being small enough to just normally pass through the urinary tract or large enough to about the size of the golf ball. If a stone hasn’t progressed to abnormal sizes, then it will be perfectly fine in travelling through the ureter and out of the body. However, if these stones become larger, they may cause intense and serious pain as well as blood within the urine.
Types of Lithotripsy
As was stated earlier, there are 3 main types of lithotripsy; Laser Lithotripsy, Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy and Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy. Here we’ll go into a bit about each procedure.
Laser Lithotripsy – Removal of kidney stones by way of a ureteroscope. This device possesses a camera and a tube for a specific fiber. The fiber releases a laser which then breaks down the kidney stone(s). They may either be removed with the ureteroscope or released through urine.
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy – Removal of kidney stones by use of shock waves from outside of the body. These shock waves will specifically target with the kidney stones. Once they are broken down, they will then pass through the urinary tract.
Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy– Procedure for kidney stones too large for the prior two options. This is conducted by making incisions through the lower back. A nephroscope, similar to a ureteroscope, is placed through the incisions to either remove the kidney stones entirely or break them down. If the stones are first broken down, then this procedure is referred to as a Percutaneous Nephrolithotripsy.
Have you had stones? Do you know how painful stones can be? For many, it is just awful, and it becomes an emergency situation. Stone disease is one of the most painful urological disorders. More than a million kidney stone cases are diagnosed each year, with an estimated one out of ten people expected to suffer from a kidney stone at some time in their life.
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