Rugby player Katie came into A&E suffering from severe pain caused by a kidney stone, which is a hard lump made from waste products in the urine.
Katie has had her fair share of injuries playing sport, but she says the pain she is in ‘doesn’t touch the sides’. She has been given morphine to help with the pain.
The kidney stone is lodged in Katie’s ureter, which is causing a blockage. Katie will receive shockwave treatment to break up the stone, so Katie is able to pass it.
The pain occurs when the stone drops out of the kidney, and it is travelling to the bladder. The urethra squeezes to push the urine through, and this squeezes the stone which can be sharp and jagged.
The removal of kidney stones is a routine procedure but left untreated there can be serious implications. An obstructed kidney can be incredibly dangerous if left long-term.
Using the ultrasound machine, Sean will blast shockwaves directly into the stone to break it up. Katie will have to endure over 3,000 shocks to the level she can tolerate. If the shockwaves are too low, the treatment can fail, and she made need surgery.
Although Katie has been given pain killers, Sean needs to find a balance between comfort levels and successfully breaking up the stone.
It’s taken 3,500 ultrasound shocks, and Sean is satisfied that the stone is no longer a danger.
With Katie’s stone broken into smaller pieces, it can now pass out of her system. She hopes that in a couple of weeks she will be back to playing sport and enjoying the summer with her friends.
Katie is now kidney stone free, she plans to get back to get back on the rugby pitch as soon as she can.
