What is a stent?
Ureteral stents are soft, hollow, plastic tubes placed temporarily into the ureter to allow drainage around a stone or to speed healing after a stone surgery
When are they needed?
Stents are used for various reasons in patients with kidney stones. They may be placed in patients to help reduce pain from a stone, when infection is present to allow drainage, or when a stone is preventing a kidney from working adequately. Stents are also commonly placed after surgeries for stones, as in ureteroscopy, to allow healing and prevent swelling of the ureter.
How is a stent placed?
Stents are placed during surgery by sliding them over a soft “guidewire” which is placed up the ureter, which is the tube draining the kidney. See a video below of a stent being placed.
How is a stent removed?
Stents can be removed in two different ways. Sometimes, a string is left attached to the end of the stent. This string is allowed to come out of the patient’s urethra, the tube where he or she urinates. The string can be used to pull on the stent and remove it. In cases where a string is not left attached, a small camera called a cystoscope is inserted into the patient’s urethra after numbing medication has usually been administered. The cystoscope is then advanced into the bladder and the stent is grasped with an instrument and removed. See our post on stent removal for a video and more details.
How long can a stent stay in?
In general, most stents should only remain in for no longer than 3 or so months. If a stent is left in too long, it can form stones directly on it, making removal difficult.
What are the symptoms of having a stent?
While some patients with stents have minimal discomfort related to them, other patients will report symptoms that can range from being annoying to being severe enough that the stent has to be removed. These symptoms can include:
- Sensation of needing to urinate
- Seeing blood in the urine
- Bladder spasms
- Burning sensation during urination
- Pain in the back during urination or when moving
- Pain in the bladder
Is there anything that can help reduce the discomfort of a stent?
Different medications may be given to help reduce the discomfort of a stent. The most effective appears to be those from the alpha blocker class of medications including tamsulosin (Flomax) and Alfuzosin (Uroxatral). Other types of medications commonly given for stent discomfort, such as oxybutynin (Ditropan) or phenazopyridine (Pyridium), do not appear to be successful at reducing stent related discomfort in placebo controlled studies. Traditional pain medications are also less successful at reducing stent discomfort.
Hasn’t anyone come up with a better stent?
Research into improving stent designs will hopefully reduce the discomfort associated with them. Innovative stent designs currently being tested include stents embedded with medications to reduce discomfort and stents that dissolve by themselves.
Can anyone share the thoughts about stent removal experience ?
I was put under general anesthesia to have my first one removed. I recommend definitely just doing the general anesthesia
I just had mine removed last week after having it in place for 4 months. I can tell you that it is a little unpleasant when it is removed, it only lasts a few seconds though and it is instant relief. So thankful to be rid of that stent!
Dears, can anyone share the experience about the stent removal procedures and methods..ans which one is better..
OMG when I came to this site I thought my stint was a small piece like they do in heart blockages. I have learned so much here. I was admitted into Hospital on Nov 30 with back pain that wouldn’t go away. The next evening the doctor blasted my stone & put in a stint. I don’t see him until Jan 19th. So now I know I am not alone. I am really looking forward to having it removed now. I can’t tell you how many times I have peed myself and now I know what the discomfort was from. Thanks to all who have posted. Your information is greatly appreciated.
Back again. I want to let you all know how important it is to drink the water. I was asked to drink 2 Litres (about 8 US cups) of water a day. I didn’t think it could be done, but it make the flow of urine better & make you feel better. I use the pain pills but only when I get the discomfort still in my back….I was told by an ER doctor that it can be caused by the stint, but the med’s are helping so much when this happens. Hope you all are feeling better soon. Thanks for being here to clear up some of the questions that I had for the Urologist when I see him the end of the month.
I feel every one of you. I am sitting here with a stent in that was placed three weeks ago and waiting for pain mdd to kick in. I have been doing this for 28 years now with stones and am sick of it. I usually have litho about every 4-5 months. Getting ready to do a huge research study to find what is causing these stones. God bless you all and we are not alone. Maybe I can find in this study something that can help you all. Hang in there
Had lithotripsy, and cystoscope with a stent yesterday. I have to pee every hr on the hr. I haven’t rested since surgery. Pain meds are not helping at all with pain and rst. I’ve seen many posts about anyone having advice but haven’t seen any responses. Help I’m going nuts here.
i had stents placed in on the 27 th dec. the pain was just unbearable that i was in hospital another 2 days. wanting a wee every hr and it was painful and then i would get after pains. got back into bed just kind of settled and back up again. its now the 2nd of jan and today the first day where i been able to cope with out all the pain killers,, still hurts but the meds were wiping me out, still havnt been outside just in bed or on the sofa. roll on the14th jan when they get removed x
Water is the trick and I read below if you are getting sick of water, put a slice of lemon or lemon juice in the water. Don’t include the pop/coffee/tea as your water liquids either….2 litre’s is the number (8 cups US measurement)
I’m so glad I came across these comments on this blog. You have all been so helpful & I now know I am not alone or going mad. On the 25th of September I had a 1.6mm stone blocking my ureter. After a couple of small bouts of pain prior to this date, the 3rd bout saw me off to hospital in an ambulance after suffering unbearable pain for 30mins. They put in a stent (pushed stone back in to kidney) to help my kidney & ureter recover. My body & bladder hate the stent & I constantly have severe contractions when I urinate. It’s like my body is rejecting the stent. It has been a nightmare. I had my second op on the 4th if December to remove the stent, blast the stone & have another stent inserted to keep the ureter happy. I was told it would be removed in 2-4 weeks time. Once again the nightmare started again. Incontenance & violent contractions. I feel exhausted, I can’t think straight & can’t do anything other than lie around or sit & watch tv. If I walk around the incontenance starts up again. I told my urologist this & he told me to drink more water – I was furious as this is all I am doing. He told me the stent will come out in Feb. I am beside myself. Going to my GP tomorrow to get a letter to have the stent removed ASAP in hospital. Fingers crossed this horrible journey will be over soon.
Ive had 2 right stents in the last 2 months, most recent one was put in Christmas eve 2015 and the one prior was placed october 27th and removed November 14th.let me tell you I am so over this crap. I’ve had uti issues since I was 3 due to a congenital condition called megaureters (in the words of my urologist my ureters are so massive that urine just pools up and becomes stagnant and full of infection) now I have a yeast infection in my kidney which we tried treating without stent to no avail. At this point I have to wait to see a peds urologist (I’m 22) because they know best how to operate to fix my ureters (because most of the time this is fixed when covered by a peds uro at 1.5cm or above.. Mine are above 5 inches or about 12.5cm)and the stent is in until that happens and until I heal from the procedure… I hate stents.
Hi, I had 2 kidney stones shatters 3 weeks ago. The Dr put a stent in with a string attached. I have tried several times to remove the stent but cant get through the pain. I have an extremely low tolerance for pain and weasnt usre if it was normal to feel pain when I am pulling on the string. I took an Oxycodine 2 hours ago and a second one 1 hour ago. Gonna try again and see if I can get through the pain to get the stent out.
I have had stones since 1994 they are extremely painful I had a great urologist that just retired I went three years and didn’t pass any. I have to make lemons a part of my daily routine . But I just had the worst one in my 21 years dealing with them the pain was extremely bad with this one 4 days in the hospital they had to go up with a tube and scope blast it and remove it and put a stint in I am home now but still hurt lots of. Lois in my urine I hate feeling like this
This is the second time I had a stent the first time was almost a year when they took 52 stones out threw my back recovery was hard , now 15 years later I’m doing this again .I don’t think there was this much pain last time . When I start to end peeing it is the worst is that normal there was so many stones I wonder if I didn’t notice.
I had an 8mm stone removed on 12/23, and a stent put in to help with healing, as the removal of the stone caused perforations. The stent is more than annoying! I am in a ton of pain, need to pee every hour, and it takes about 45 minutes to pee each time. Has this been anyone else’s experience, and does it get any better? I have to keep my stent in for 10 days, which seems like an eternity right about now.
Shawna, I’m going through the same thing. I had a stent placement on 12/21. I can barely walk. It feels like something is stabbing my bladder. It’s worse when I urinate. I feel pressure on my kidneys. The stent will be removed on 1/4/16. I had less pain when the 8mm stone was stuck in my ureter.
Hi Brian, Hope your doing better. I had my stent and stone removed on 12/17. A short term stent with a string was left in to prevent inflammation and the possibility of blockage. The following Monday my doctor pulled it out. I expected it to hurt when it was pulled out. (All in my head). I didn’t feel a thing! NOTHING to worry about. After that stent was pulled out, the urge to pee went away immediately. It was like turning a light switch off. Unbelievable! The constant urge to pee was driving me crazy. I feel amazing now. Hopefully the stone was the cause of your back pain in the past. To all stone suffers out there, stay the course and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Hi, Rick. Thank you for your post – it is really helpful and encouraging.
So I just within the past 3 hours or so got released from having a stent put in my urethra and he curled one end of it into my bladder (doc said so it won’t move up or down) … So my questions is/are why did he put a stent just up my urethra and leave it in my bladder instead of going up my ureter where my 7mm stone is stuck? Why didn’t he use lithotripsy machine to break stone down so its no longer stuck? And possibly passable… He said the stent will stay in for a week or 2 (he says so “everything can heal” which I also don’t understand) then will proceed to do the lithotripsy to break down the stone and THEN REMOVE THE STENT? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS PROCESS
Just had a kidney stone removed today. I received Norco as pain med which isn’t touching it. What has been the most effective way to deal with the pain for all of you?
I got Percocet and it’s helped me 100%. I can function again. It also doesn’t make me feel all drugged up.
I
I had stone removed Nov 23 standard method had stent placed .then on Dec 8 had lithography done for other stone.was taking pain meds,which cause severe constipation. Getting some back pain when I urinate,not taking any pain pills .stent to be removed Dec 29.going stir crazy
My doctor knew this would happen. You should call for a script. Cola S works well. That’s what he gave me.
Re my previous comment that should have read 1.5 cm stone and not 1.5mm. Think I’m still feeling the after effects of the anaesthetic yesterday.
MICHELLE re your comment of 17 December:
I have had 3 stents fitted totalling 4 months without a break. Originally I was rushed to A & E with a 1.5 mm stone. After each lasering session a stent was refitted. I know every stent is different but my body is awkward and can’t tolerate them. Luckily I’m retired so work isn’t an issue but I’m unable to cope with the stent pain and discomfort. Yesterday I had another kidney stone lasered and have a stent in for 8 weeks now so I can feel your pain. I have yet another stone to be lasered in 8 weeks time and my urologist always fits a stent so again will be suffering no doubt. Once you’ve had a kidney stone there’s a high percentage you’ll get more and unfortunately that’s been me. I take all the help I can from my family and especially at this time of year. Be strong and keep positive because no matter what happens it’s out of your hands.
How is the recovery from the laser surgery? I know that it took me 4 weeks to even begin to feel normal after the emergency surgery when my kidney ruptured. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
Hi Michelle, Many apologies for delay in replying. It’s 4 weeks since the laser surgery and it’s the stent that is horrendous, even though it takes a few weeks to recover from the surgery for me. You would think I should be used to it by now but my body doesn’t seem able to tolerate stents. My urologist says it seems to recognise a foreign body in there and seems to want to reject it, hence the extreme pain I have. I know I’m not alone so that is what keeps me going. I’ve got another 4 weeks to go till more lasering then another stent for 8 weeks. It’s going to be a long job again. Last time it lasted 5 months from start to finish. Hope everything is going ok with you and not long to go till February. Regards.
Has anyone ever had a stent for an extended period of time? I had to have emergency surgery on November 5th due to a 2CM stone…yes CM…that ruptured my kidney…I had a stent placed and due to my kidney rupturing will not be able to have the stone removed until February 1st, my kidney has to have time to heal. They will do the laser surgery to break up the stone, lithotripsy is not an option due to the size and hardness of the stone. I have generally felt bad the entire time…I’m now 6 weeks into it…and it seems like the longer the stent is in the worse the pain gets. I was curious to see if anyone else out there has had a similar experience and how they felt. I’M SO READY TO BE DONE WITH THIS!!!
I had the same problem but mine lasted 1 week. And the pain was unbearable the had to be strong
I know how it feels I am 32 wks pregnant and have had the stent in from November 2015 it is really the worse pain ever and it does get worse everyday cannot wait to have it out cannot sit or stand it just put a stop to your everyday living some days I just want to just pull it out and bare the kidney pain but hoping it will soon be over
I know what you mean…hang in there and hopefully it will be over soon!
Michele . Hi, I am going threw the same thing right now. I have had a finger cut off , back surgery and survived a motor cycle accident but nothing compares to this constant and agonizing pain . I feel tired and have no energy all of the time. I’m not one to just sit and suffer . I have to do something but by the end of the day I’m a wreak . So what you are going threw is normal . It seems like it’s never going to end but it will. Just let it take its course and it will be over. Then drink , drink and drink water. Drink it until you can’t stand it . Good luck and hang in there.
Chris- thanks for confirming that I’m not just being a sissy! I’m usually pretty good at dealing with pain but this is horrible…I get so frustrated from feeling so bad that I just cry…and the Levisin and Vicodin that I take doesn’t help. I can only take my meds at night because I couldn’t function at work during the day so I suffer all day and by the time I get off work at 5 I can barely function. I’m a water drinker…that’s all I drink…no sodas but once in a blue moon. I’m trying to find a dr that can tell me how to prevent them…I never want to go through this again…I have a history of stones but never as bad as this! Good luck to you!
I’m right there with you sister! The constant burning and urgency to pee ( feels like peeing fire and needles) and feeling that stint with every movement has also brought me to tears from pain and frustration! I had my stones blasted today in surgery and stint put in. I’m on Vicodin 5-325. Does nothing. I just read tamuloson (flomax) might help. Doctor had given me script for that. I just took it along with 2 Advil, the Advil for swelling of kidney or urethra. I’m hoping this help! If it does I’ll post again.
Hello
I hope things are better sense we last spoke . I’m going in tomorrow to get this stint removed . A little nervous but it will soon be over . For good , I hope. I have had a cold going on two weeks now so it has been a double whammy for me . Anyway , hope you’re doing better .
My surgiry done on 11/12/15. Doctor used sternts. Its removed on 26/12/15.
I haven’t taken my stent out for an entire year then it popped right out of my pee hole went to ER got it removed then got another stent n been having it over 6 months now. I hate it. I pee blood n pee frequently with back pain and tummy pain. Went to doctor for it but haven’t gotten a surfeit for it yet. Now I have no time
That sounds horrible! I cant imagine having it for that long! I hope that I never have to go through this again!! I have the blood in my urine also and the back and stomach pain. Hopefully we can find a solution for all this mess! Hope it gets better for you soon!
I have been suffering from kidney stones since 2005. I had a total parathyroiectomy in 2011. Didnt help only made everything qorse. So now I have kidney stones , and hypocalcemia, hypokalemia, and low magnesium..I have a stone 16.5mm.not fun!
Had a stent placed yesterday. Scheduling stone removal tomorrow. Also am taking a med called Uribel. Been in something of a fog since this began due to pain meds. I believe the Uribel is something of a lubricant for lack of a better term. My understanding is that the doctor is hoping for the stone to move to a better spot for removal. But son of a gun when I urinate which is very frequent right now I feel a deep stabbing pain in my upper groin. Starts a second after I start to utinate and ends when I stop urinating. I’m not a complainer and don’t know if I should call my doc about this. I expected some discomfort but this pain exceeds what I would consider “discomfort”. Would stabbing pain merit a doctor call?
I just had a 9 cm kidney stone,, which is a little less than
3/8 of an inch. Had to have it surgically removed on 12/ 8.
Had Ureteroscopy and Stent placed. Am home recovering.
Will have Stent removed on Tue 12/15. The Stent pain is annoying
But I have tolerated it so far.. Are you sure the Utologist said your
Stone is 5mm.. If so,, it’s very big
Good luck
Pretty sure you mean 9mm, not 9cm?
I had three stones removed on 12/17 and a stent placed. At first I didn’t have much blood or pain. Now, I have a lot of blood in my urine and pain.
I agree with Mary m I also suffer with kidney stone occurrences and the procedure she has said, I wouldn’t call painful. My experience of it was like being stung with an elastic band. They will give you pain killers about 20 minutes before the procedure. First attempt may not always work and you may need a second dose of it. I would certainly choose that way.
Anyone in similar situation?
For past 2 years I’ve been seeing a spine specialist doing everything possible to avoid back surgery such as physical therapy, medicine, spinal injections… then 2 days ago I get stomach pain so bad my doctor sends me to ER. After scans and x-rays i’m told its a kidney stone over 5 mm. I have stent put in and the stomach pain is gone and my back is the best its felt in over 6 months. I follow up with urologist within the next two weeks to determine best procedure for removing the stone which at time of putting in stent he said was much larger than 6 mm. I’m a little more than 24 hours after getting the stent put in and the feeling I need to urinate every two minutes and the discomfort with it sucks. I’ll drink alot of water as I see is advisable, take my meds and hope for the best. I recently consulted with a surgeon about my back pain and looking at my MRI’s he didn’t consider me for immediate surgery but said I may benefit from the least invasive back surgery. He recommended I continue with the program my spine doctor has me on. He could not explain my level of back pain looking at my MRI’s and I now wonder how much of the kidney stone was/is contributing to the back pain. Would a kidney stone show up on an MRI of the low back?
Kidney stones definitely can contribute to severe back pain. Personally, I’d have the stone removed (by laser lithotripsy) to see if my back felt better afterwards. That procedure isn’t the most pleasant ( just had it last week) and you’ll have to wait until the stent is out to see if your back is better, but the procedure is definitely less painful than passing a kidney stone! And a stone as large as yours won’t pass by itself anyway. I’m not a doctor, but I am a kidney stone sufferer. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if your back pain is much better after stone is gone.
I agree with Mary m I also suffer with kidney stone occurrences and the procedure she has said, I wouldn’t call painful. My experience of it was like being stung with an elastic band. They will give you pain killers about 20 minutes before the procedure. First attempt may not always work and you may need a second dose of it. I would certainly choose that way.
Brian, I’m sure your back pain will go away after the stone situation is resolved. I have a stent now and yes, the constant need to urinate sucks. However, it does relieve back pain and trips to the ER. I still have dull back pain, about a 3/4 in my back flank which is related to the stent. I am scheduled to have my stent removed next week. Get the stone resolved as soon as you can. All the best.
Thanks all for the feedback. I had successful lithotripsy last Thursday and getting stent removed this Thursday. The stent is much more tolerable after the lithotripsy, more of an inconvenience. The severe back pain i’ve been dealing with for over two years is now minimal and feeling the best it has been in a very long time. Can’t wait till stent is removed and off meds to see how my back feels afterwards. Although this experience really sucked, if it saves me from back surgery then there was something positive to be thankful for. Thanks again for the replies.