Cost of Lithotripsy (ESWL) in Nigeria Including Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Benin, Enugu and Kaduna.
Extra-corporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy or Laser lithotripsy is a procedure to break apart kidney stones in the urinary tract. It is done with a ureteroscope passed into the tubes of the urinary tract. Incisions are not needed. The laser breaks the kidney stones into smaller pieces that can either be removed by the surgeon or pass out of the body in the urine.
Kidney stones can become trapped anywhere in the urinary tract, including the kidney and the ureter. The ureter is a tube that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder. If a stone gets stuck in the ureter it can cause a blockage and the back-up of urine into the kidney. They can also be quite painful.
Laser lithotripsy is used to break apart the kidney stone so that it can pass through the ureter. The pieces will either be removed by the surgeon using a special basket or left in place where they will move from the ureter to the bladder, then out of the body with the urine.
Laser lithotripsy may be chosen if other non-surgical treatments have failed or if kidney
stones are:
👉Too large to pass
👉Irregular in shape
👉Causing bleeding or damage to surrounding tissue
Call your doctor if any of these occur:
Inability to urinate
Pain that cannot be controlled with the medications you were given
Redness, warmth, excessive bleeding, or drainage
Signs of infection, including fever or chills
Persistent nausea or vomiting
Increasing or large amounts of blood in the urine
New or worsening symptoms
ADVANTAGES OF LASER LITHOTRIPSY TREATMENT(RIRS) FOR KIDNEY STONE –
1. Laser treatment for kidney stones (RIRS) can be used for treating different stones that have different compositions.
2. RIRS (retrograde intrarenal surgery) is less invasive and has faster recovery time compared to shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) or percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).
3. RIRS with the Holmium YAG laser is well researched and has shown excellent results that are equal to shockwave lithotripsy.
4. RIRS for kidney stones was found to have lower complications, lower risk of stone recurrence as well quicker patient recovery times.
5. RIRS was also found to be effective for removing both large and small kidney stones.
Laser treatment for kidney stones has over 95.8% success rate in most patients. More interestingly, when patients received a kidney stone laser treatment, the stone re-treatment was almost 5 to 6 times lower as compared to other treatment options.
RIRS kidney stones is better procedure when compared to other kidney stone removal treatment options.
Cost of Lithotripsy in Nigeria
Lithotripsy as a procedure to remove kidney stones is just gaining traction in Nigeria. Only few hospitals in Nigeria especially big private hospitals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin City perform this procedure. Examples of hospitals that carry out lithotripsy minimally invasive surgery are Cedacrest, Lily, Benin Medical Care, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, First Consultants, St. Nicholas, Eko Hospitals, Lagoon Hospital and more.
Lithotripsy is an expensive procedure. For example, in Abuja and Lagos, lithotripsy cost around 2 million – 5 million Naira. That is, between $5000 – $8000. Other hospitals in Nigeria may charge as much as 3.5 million Naira for lithotripsy. For persons in the federal capital territory, the cost of lithotripsy in Abuja is about 4 million Naira.
