What happens before ureteral stenting?
Before a ureteral stent procedure, your provider may ask you to:
- Get blood tests to check kidney function.
- Give your healthcare team a list of the medications and supplements you take.
- Stop taking medications like aspirin that thin the blood.
- Fast (not eat or drink) for a specified amount of time before the procedure.
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What happens during ureteral stenting?
Stenting is typically an outpatient procedure. You go home the same day. A urologist, a doctor who specializes in conditions that affect the urinary system, performs the procedure.
Before the procedure, you receive anesthesia. Most often, you have general anesthesia, so you’re asleep. You lie on your back for the procedure. Your provider:
- Uses X-ray imaging (fluoroscopy) or a kidney ultrasound to locate the obstruction and guide the procedure.
- Inserts a small scope device with a lens (cystoscope) through the urethra and into the bladder. The urethra is the tube where urine leaves your body when you pee.
- Threads a thin, flexible wire (guidewire) through the cystoscope into the blocked ureter.
- Uses the guidewire to place the ureteral stent. A curled part of the stent sits in the kidney, while another curled part rests in the bladder. These coils hold the stent in place.
- Gently removes the guidewire and cystoscope, leaving the stent in place.
What happens after ureteral stenting?
Someone should drive you home when your provider says it’s safe to go. Your provider may recommend drinking lots of water after the procedure to help with kidney and bladder function.
You may notice some blood in the urine and have some discomfort. These symptoms are normal after the stent placement and should gradually improve in a couple of days. However, you may see traces of blood and have discomfort until your provider removes the stent. You may also experience frequent urination and pain in the kidney that gets worse when you urinate as long as the stent is in place. The blood in your urine may come and go randomly.
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How long will I have a ureteral stent?
Most ureteral stents are temporary. Your healthcare provider will perform another procedure to remove the stent after the kidney stone passes, infection clears up or other problems resolve. You’ll probably have the stent for a few days or weeks.
Some people need stents for months or years. People who have tumors that press on the ureters or narrowed ureters may need ureteral stents for an extended time. Your provider will replace the stent with a new one every three to six months. Replacing the stent reduces the likelihood of complications.
How are ureteral stents removed?
Some short-term ureteral stents have strings that hang outside the urethra, where pee comes out. Your healthcare provider gently pulls on the string to remove the ureteral stent.
If you need a ureteral stent for a few weeks or longer, the stent won’t have a string. Your provider removes the stent during a minor office procedure. You may get X-rays or an ultrasound before removal. This imaging assures the provider that your kidney stone or other issue has resolved.
To remove the stent during a procedure, your provider:
- Inserts a cystoscope through the urethra and into the bladder.
- Uses tiny clamps attached to the cystoscope to grab onto the stent.
- Gently removes the stent.
