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What can I Expect During Stent Removal?

Deborah Walker
Deborah Walker

Ureteral stents are 9-12 inch (24-30 cm) pieces of sterile plastic tubing used to relieve obstructions in the urinary tract or placed temporarily during ureter surgery. Most of the time the patient will be under general anesthesia when the stent is inserted; during stent removal, a local anesthetic may be used. After being prepped for removal of the stent, the doctor may thread a cystoscope through the urethra until it reaches the stent, grasp it, and pull it out using steady force. Some stents have a thread attached to them that remains outside of the body, thus making a cystoscope is unnecessary. Following stent removal, you may notice stinging on urination or blood in the urine; antibiotics may be prescribed.

Once the obstruction has cleared or the ureters have healed, you will return to the doctor for stent removal. Prior to the procedure, you may be asked to change into a hospital gown or remove your clothing from the waist down. You may be instructed to lay on a procedure table with your knees bent and slightly apart. Your lower body will be covered with a sterile sheet.

A urinary stent may be temporarily used for kidney stones or other bladder obstructions.
A urinary stent may be temporarily used for kidney stones or other bladder obstructions.

Once you are in position, the doctor will use a syringe without a needle to pass local anesthetic into the urinary tract. Once numbed, the area around the urethra will be cleaned. If the stent does not have a string, the cystoscope is inserted. When the stent is reached, the doctor will grasp it with a special tool that has been advanced through the cystoscope, and then slowly pull it out. You may feel a slow, constant pressure during stent removal.

After being prepped for removal of the stent, the doctor may thread a cystoscope through the urethra until it reaches the stent.
After being prepped for removal of the stent, the doctor may thread a cystoscope through the urethra until it reaches the stent.

If your kidney stent has a string attached, the preparation for stent removal is the same as when a cystoscope is used. Following prepping for removal of the stent, the doctor or nurse will pull the thread to remove the stent; no cystoscope is required. You may feel some pressure or force as the stent is removed.

The entire outpatient procedure may take 15-20 minutes or less. No hospital stay is required for routine stent removal. During the first 24 hours after the procedure, you may notice stinging and/or a small amount of blood when you urinate. The doctor may recommend drinking two full glasses of water each hour for the first two hours following the procedure to help reduce the side effects. You may also be prescribed a short course of antibiotics to prevent infection.

Discussion Comments

anon1001420

I am male, age 60. I had a stent in for 18 days. Quite frankly, all of the horror stories had me freaked about the removal.

I took 600mgs of advil and 500mgs of Tylenol an hour before. The urologist and his nurse came in. He explained what he was going to do and what I would feel while his nurse prepped me. I was stretched out on a gurney and naked from waist down. She disinfected the head of the penis and then injected a lidocaine gel into the urethra. (No needle). She then held it upright for a couple of minutes so the gel wouldn't leak out and it would numb properly. The doc and the nurse made some small talk to help distract me from an unusual, but so far not an unpleasant situation.

After that she held onto it while the surgeon inserted a flexible scope. It was a weird sensation like I was peeing backwards. When he reached the prostate there was an ever so slight pinch as he entered the bladder. When he reached the bladder, he injected water into it, another weird sensation, as he searched for the end of the stent. So far we are talking about 10 seconds.

When he found the stent, he paused for about 10 seconds while he inserted a tool through the scope that he was going to use to grab onto the stent with. He then told me to take 5 deep breaths, wiggle my toes and to try and "pee" as he was pulling. In about 3-5 seconds, he had it out. The trying to "pee" part was to help expel the stent naturally and kept me from tensing up and fighting it while he was pulling it out, as this would've caused more irritation and spasms.

The nurse cleaned me up with a warm washcloth while I caught my breath. All in all on a "pain" scale it was a zero. On a "weird pressure sensation", it was at a 5. That feeling, by the way, quickly vanished by the time she had cleaned me up. From start to finish it was less than three minutes.

Post procedure many people have given accounts of severe pain from spasms beginning a couple of hours later that was somehow worse than their kidney stone pain. For me, that wasn't the case.

About three hours later, I did get an ache in my side so I took an Advil and put a heating pad on it for a couple of hours, and that was it. Painful peeing was non existent. The first one burned a bit and there was a slight tinge of blood but again, that disappeared very quickly.

Day 2 post procedure, everything's good. No pain, no aches, all the plumbing seems to be working.

Truth be known, I'd rather have this over a root canal!

anon998225

Is it mandatory to remove the stent?

anon352120

Thanks anon140773, that eases my mind. I'm having a stent with a thread removed soon. I'm a pretty tough guy but still have been stressing about it a bit.

anon332551

Is it normal to have bleeding two weeks after stent removal?

HannahLove

I pulled it my stent out myself today. It was hurting too badly and I had stopped taking painkillers two days ago due to constipation. I had the kind with a string. I just took a deep breath and let it out slowly while I pulled. The trick is to get yourself to relax or it will be harder to remove.

anon140773

I had a ureteral stent removed after five weeks and I took a vicodin tab ahead of time, and would tell you that you should not get worked up about it.

It is a two minute procedure and I felt two slight pinches and it was out. It was not painful!

It is now four days after stent removal and no problems.

Good luck to all. Just be sure that you put your mind at ease by writing down all your questions and be sure to ask your Urologist about the details of your procedure and what to expect and when to contact him if something doesn't seem right.

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    • A urinary stent may be temporarily used for kidney stones or other bladder obstructions.
      By: airborne77
      A urinary stent may be temporarily used for kidney stones or other bladder obstructions.
    • After being prepped for removal of the stent, the doctor may thread a cystoscope through the urethra until it reaches the stent.
      By: stockpackshot
      After being prepped for removal of the stent, the doctor may thread a cystoscope through the urethra until it reaches the stent.
    • A patient will most likely be under general anesthesia during a stent removal.
      By: Tyler Olson
      A patient will most likely be under general anesthesia during a stent removal.
    • A person should drink two full glasses of water each hour for two hours following a stent removal.
      By: Ermolaev Alexandr
      A person should drink two full glasses of water each hour for two hours following a stent removal.
    • A patient will be asked to change into a hospital gown before a stent removal is performed.
      By: WavebreakmediaMicro
      A patient will be asked to change into a hospital gown before a stent removal is performed.
    • No hospital stay is required for a routine stent removal.
      By: jeep5d
      No hospital stay is required for a routine stent removal.
    • A person may feel pressure as a stent is removed.
      By: Zsolnai Gergely
      A person may feel pressure as a stent is removed.
    • Blood in the urine may occur following the removal of a stent.
      By: Alexander Gospodinov
      Blood in the urine may occur following the removal of a stent.
    • Blood may be seen in a patient's urine following a stent removal.
      By: tomschoumakers
      Blood may be seen in a patient's urine following a stent removal.