Kidney stones and stent?!

Kidney stones and stent?

My pregnant sister has a 7mm kidney stone in her ureter. It caused her so much pain she went to her hospital L&D twice. During the second visit they did a CT scan and found the stone. They decided to put a stent in from her kidney to her bladder. I guess my question is: If the stone was blocking the ureter then how did they put the stent in? Where did the stone go?

Oftentimes a small stone (<4-5mm) will pass on its own. However, given that her stone was 7mm, it probably didn't pass on its own.

If the stone has not passed, the most popular method for getting rid of it is by a process called lithotripsy, which is like using ultrasound waves to shatter the stone so that it will pass. Perhaps the fact that she was pregnant may have had something to do with not doing it this way? (I don't know--I'm not an OB)

In your sister's case, they probably used a ureteroscopic procedure (the 2nd most popular procedure), where they went into her ureter via the bladder to remove the stone. Since this is a somewhat more invasive procedure, there is potential for swelling and edema, and they place the stent there to prevent that swelling and edema from blocking off the flow of urine from the kidney.

I'm sure you can find plenty of information on the internet about adjusting diets and so on to prevent stones from forming. Also, some things like recurrent urinary tract infections are risk factors for developing stones.