In the last post, we explained that the urologist is the specialist for kidney stones. We also gave you some recommendations for choosing the best urologist possible. If you missed it, you can read it here.
This time, we will talk about other healthcare professionals who also play an important role in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of kidney stones. If you want to prevent the formation of future kidney stones, this post will be very interesting to you. Keep reading!
Which other professionals are involved?
The urologist is not the only healthcare professional involved in the treatment of patients with kidney stones. The nephrologist, primary care physician, emergency physician, radiologist, anesthetist, nutritionist, biochemist, microbiologist, and nurse also participate. But who is involved in each case and why are they important? Let's look at each case separately.
The Emergency Physician
The emergency physician (or emergency medicine specialist) is the first doctor a patient sees when they arrive at a Hospital Emergency Department with symptoms of a renal colic.
The job of emergency physicians is to diagnose renal colic based on symptoms and other complementary tests (such as blood tests, urine tests, or imaging techniques), treat the acute episode with medication, and, when appropriate, refer the patient to other specialists for continued treatment.
The Nephrologist
The nephrologist is the clinical specialist responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of kidney diseases, including kidney stones. Therefore, they are the specialist who theoretically should investigate the causes of kidney stone formation in the patient and initiate specific treatment to prevent their recurrence.
However, as we saw in the previous post, in practice, this task is often also performed by the urologist, who is the surgical specialist. The reasons are historical. Urology has been responsible for removing kidney stones surgically since the 17th century, while nephrology is a specialty just over 50 years old that has focused on other treatments such as kidney transplantation or dialysis. But it is certainly advisable to look for a nephrologist with an interest in kidney stones, as they are the most expert in their treatment and prevention.
The Radiologist
The radiologist is the physician who specializes in diagnosing diseases and injuries using medical imaging techniques such as X-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and ultrasound.
The radiologist is responsible for diagnosing kidney stones using one of the aforementioned imaging techniques. The most recommended is CT, which allows for highly sensitive and specific determination of the presence of stones, their composition, hardness, size, and location. This information is essential for the urologist to then choose the best surgical treatment.
The Anesthetist
The anesthetist is the physician who specializes in providing anesthesia to the patient during surgery so that they do not feel any discomfort or pain, and so that the urologist can work comfortably in removing the kidney stone.
Before the operation, the anesthetist is responsible for carrying out a detailed study of the patient's body (preoperative study) and calculating the anesthesia time the urologist will need to perform the procedure. To carry out this preoperative study, the anesthetist will collect patient data such as weight or height, whether the patient is obese or elderly, whether they have any other diseases that pose a risk, or whether they have an allergy to any medication. The anesthetist may request complementary patient tests to gather all the information they need.
During the operation, the anesthetist is responsible for administering anesthesia to the patient to keep them asleep without pain, connecting them to a ventilator, and monitoring their vital parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate (ECG), blood oxygen level, blood CO2 level, or body temperature, among others.
At the end of the operation, the anesthetist is also responsible for waking the patient and ensuring that they breathe on their own without difficulty.
In conclusion
As we have seen, in addition to the urologist, there are other healthcare professionals who play an important role in the treatment of kidney stones. In this post, we have reviewed the responsibilities of the emergency physician, nephrologist, radiologist, and anesthetist. It seems complicated, right? Well, you haven't seen anything yet. In the next post, we will also explain the functions of the primary care physician, nurse, nutritionist, biochemist, and microbiologist. As you can see, treating your kidney stones is a team effort, and the most important member is you: the patient!
