Logroño (EFE).- La Rioja health has incorporated the new state-of-the-art lithotripsy at the San Pedro University Hospital, which will allow “greater precision, less pain and more possibility of indications” to treat kidney stones.
The head of the Urology Service, Javier Martínez, announced this Wednesday at an informative meeting on the occasion of the visit of the President of the Government of La Rioja, Concha Andreu, to this facility, which replaces the previous one after more than 23 years of use.
Martínez explained that, with the previous device, “the radiolucent stones, which are those with uric acid, were not located well, and with this one it will be possible to break both these and the larger ones.”
He has specified that this new lithotripsy is going to serve more than 180 patients a year, who are the ones that are usually treated in this service, and it will start working from tomorrow, the 30th, with 5 people summoned.
Andreu has highlighted that, “with the aim of offering a higher quality and safety system for patients, and complying with the established portfolio of services, a new state-of-the-art equipment has been purchased, which represents an investment of 531,423 euros”.
He has specified that “lithotripsy uses shock waves to disintegrate the stones in the kidney and parts of the ureter, since the waves pass through the body and hit the kidney stones until they break into tiny pieces, which are expelled in the urine thanks to a treatment much less painful in 45 to 60 minutes.”
The Urology service, he continued, “carries out, on average, 4 weekly cases of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, which means more than 180 patients a year.”
“This new lithotripsy will contribute to greater safety and quality of treatment, and to be able to perform complementary surgical procedures in case of need or complications, with the support of hospitalization and radiodiagnostic units, reducing the number of referrals to other autonomous communities”, has saying.