What to do if a stone cannot be removed from the ureter

Patients can drink more plain water to increase their urine output. During the process of urination, the stones are flushed by urine, which helps them to be discharged from the body with urine as soon as possible. Patients can also do jumping and inversion exercises, if their condition and physical condition allow, to facilitate the discharge of stones from the ureter. Atropine sulfate, progesterone, diclofenac sodium and tamsulosin can also be taken as prescribed by the doctor to reduce pain and assist in stone removal. If these methods cannot solve the patient’s problem, or if the diameter of ureteral stones is larger than 6mm, it is necessary to undergo extracorporeal lithotripsy or surgery, etc. 1.Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: It is a conventional treatment method for urinary stones, with non-contact and non-invasive treatment characteristics. The treatment principle is to use shock waves outside the body to crush ureteral stones into powder form, which will cause the stones to be excreted naturally with urine. This technique has a short treatment time and high stone removal rate, which is easily accepted by patients, and does not require open surgery, and has a good prognosis. 2. Ureteroscopy: Ureteroscopy is performed by reaching into the ureter through the urethra, passing through the bladder, and then reaching the ureter, after which the stones are removed using stone extraction forceps or lithotripsy baskets. Stones can also be broken up and then removed with the assistance of ureteroscopy, using laser lithotripter and ultrasonic ballistics, etc. 3. Percutaneous nephrostomy drainage: It has a more important role in urology and is a high urinary diversion procedure. During the treatment with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, imaging is performed through the nephrostomy to determine the location of the stone, and then percutaneous nephrostomy is used for stone fragmentation as well as stone extraction to avoid blockage of the ureter by the fragmented stone. Percutaneous nephrostomy drainage is an adjunct in stone treatment and is sometimes applied to other kidney surgeries; 4. Open surgery: If all the above treatments fail and there is no contraindication to surgery, open surgery can be performed via the abdominal cavity or lumbar region to retrieve the stone after comprehensive judgment by the doctor.