What are the symptoms of bladder stones?

Written by Zeng Zhong
Urology
Updated on March 11, 2025
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The symptoms of bladder stones primarily include frequent urination, urgent urination, painful urination, visible blood in the urine, and sometimes interrupted urination. Bladder stones mainly form when kidney stones move down through the ureters into the bladder. Another cause may be due to urinary obstruction, such as prostate enlargement in males, an elevated bladder neck, etc., leading to urinary retention, which in turn causes the formation of bladder stones. Bladder stones are a common disease in the urinary system and can be cured with proper treatment at a hospital’s urology department.

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Written by Wang Shuai
Urology
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What department should I go to for bladder stones?

Bladder stones are a condition treated by the urology department, requiring medical examination and treatment at a hospital. The treatment method chosen depends on the specific size of the stones. If the diameter of the stone is less than 7 millimeters, conservative treatment can be adopted, which involves drinking more water and urinating frequently to flush the stones out of the body. If the stones are larger, they need to be crushed before being expelled or directly removed through the use of a cystoscope. Under cystoscopy, stones can be crushed using a Holmium laser and then removed. After surgery, drinking plenty of water and urinating frequently can help prevent the recurrence of stones.

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Written by Zeng Zhong
Urology
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Minimally Invasive Surgery Procedure for Bladder Stones

Before the surgery, the patient enters the operating room where the doctor administers anesthesia to ensure that the patient will not feel any pain during the procedure. Once the anesthesia takes effect, the patient is positioned in the lithotomy position. The surgeon then sterilizes the surgical area and inserts a ureteroscope through the urethra into the bladder. Once the bladder stones are identified with the help of a monitor, the patient does not feel any discomfort, and the doctor uses a Holmium laser fiber to directly break up the stones in the bladder.

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Written by Zeng Zhong
Urology
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Is minimally invasive surgery for bladder stones painful?

Minimally invasive surgery for bladder stones is primarily performed through the urethra, using a laser lithotripsy technique. During the surgery, anesthesia is administered, so the patient does not feel any pain. After the surgery, once the anesthesia has metabolized, the patient generally does not experience intense pain. Since the minimally invasive surgery does not involve any abdominal incisions, the patient only needs a catheter to help with urination, which generally does not cause pain.

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Urology
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How to effectively treat bladder stones?

The treatment of bladder stones should be based on the specific size and volume of the stones in the patient. For bladder stones smaller than 1.5 centimeters, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy can be used. After the treatment, the patient should drink plenty of water and urinate frequently at home to facilitate the expulsion of the stones. One week later, the patient should return to the hospital for a follow-up ultrasound to observe the condition of the stone expulsion. For bladder stones larger than 1.5 centimeters, surgery is often required.

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Written by Zeng Zhong
Urology
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Are bladder stones easy to pass?

Patients with bladder stones, if the stones are less than 0.5 cm in size, can promote the natural expulsion of the stones by drinking more water and urinating frequently. If the stones are larger, over 0.5 cm in size, treatment may require extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy or surgery. For patients undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, generally, if the stones are between 0.5-1.5 cm in size, this treatment can be performed. After the treatment, it is also necessary to drink more water and urinate frequently to facilitate the expulsion of the stones. For larger stones, over 1.5 cm, surgical treatment is required.