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Fa l l 2012
A J OURNAL
DE VOT ED TO
HEALTHFUL L I V I NG
®
Helping Make Life Better
www.hrhs.org
INSIDE
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Walk for a cause
4
Get the facts on stroke
7
Know your numbers
KIDNEY
stones can pack a
mean punch. ese hard stones that
form from crystals in urine cause
pain for the hundreds of thousands
of people a ected each year. A new
service o ered at Halifax Regional
Hospital (HRH) is prepared to crush
those pesky pebbles and help you
avoid surgery.
HRH began o ering extracorpo-
real shock wave lithotripsy services
on August 6 through Hampton
Roads Lithotripsy. e service
provider travels to HRH each month
and conducts lithotripsy services in
the HRH operating room. Proce-
dures are scheduled for patients with
urologists Christi Hughart, DO, or
W. Joseph Ferguson, MD, at Halifax
Urology Associates.
How does it work?
Lithotripsy is a technique for
treating stones in the kidney and
ureter that do not require surgery.
High-energy shock waves are passed
through the body, breaking stones
into small pieces that can be passed
from the body in urine.
During the procedure, the patient
lies on a special cushion, which al-
lows shock waves to pass through it
and through the patient. Approxi-
mately 1,000 to 2,000 shocks are ad-
ministered, and the treatment takes
about 45 to 60 minutes. Anesthesia
is used to help the patient during the
procedure.
Recovery time
Patients can move around
almost immediately a er having
the procedure, and many people
resume their normal daily activi-
ties within one or two days. It is
recommended that patients drink
plenty of water in the days following
the procedure to help stone frag-
ments pass.
Broken stone fragments may
cause discomfort as they are
passed, and some patients may ex-
perience blood in their urine
for a few days. Taking any pain
medication prescribed by the
doctor should help relieve these
symptoms.
Will it work for you?
Lithotripsy doesn’t work for all
patients. e size, composition,
location and number of stones play
a role in whether lithotripsy is ap-
propriate. Your urologist can tell
you whether the procedure is right
for you.
For more information about litho-
tripsy services at HRH or to make
an appointment with a urologist, call
Halifax Urology Associates at
434-517-8893
.
No
more
stones
New therapy
crushes kidney
stones