Tiny Metal Tube Removes Need For Dialysis

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 16 Mar 2009 - 6:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

A small metal connecting tube in her body has made all the difference to 63 year old Norma Fenton's quality of life. Norma, who only has one kidney, had the tiny tube, 20 centimetres in length and 3.5 millimetres wide known as a 'stent' inserted to connect her kidney and bladder. Now she is able to lead a normal life, but if it hadn't been inserted at Barts Hospital near St Pauls last December, she'd have to be on dialysis twice a week.

And the tube insertion has saved her what could have been an estimated 30 days in hospital over 5 years as an in-patient.

Stents are more traditionally used in cardiac situations such as clearing blocked arteries, but Norma's case highlights their other beneficial uses in medicine. Barts and The London is one of the first and leading centres in the world to use this technology in urology.

Norma, from Waltham Abbey said:

"The stent has really made such a difference to my life. Without this metal tube, I'd have to be on dialysis. The stent now provides a secure and comfortable permanent drainage of my remaining kidney".

"Previously I was on a plastic alternative that needed replacing every 6 months which meant having general anaesthetic and spending three days in hospital every 6 months."

"Like this it's perfect because I don't have to get it replaced."

"Everything has been done at Barts and it's amazing to think such a tiny piece of metal can save me so many hospital visits!"

The stent is minimally invasive and can be shaped on insertion with heat. Barts and The London NHS Trust has now established itself as the world referral centre for this type of stent. The stent currently being used, is made by PNN Medical in Denmark, which today donated £15,000 to Barts and the London NHS Trust for the purchase of a flexible digital ureterscope.

Barts and the London was the first Trust in the UK to get one of these novel digital instruments and will now be able to buy another. The ureterscope is used by doctors to enter the urinary tract through the bladder to treat kidney stones and other conditions inside the kidney. The device uses a computer-enhanced monitor system with a tiny camera chip at the tip of the 3mm scope. It will be used to treat around 150 patients a year.

Consultant Urologist at Barts Hospital Noor Buchholz said:

"Norma's stent is a great example of how far technology has come in impacting hugely on patients' quality of life. The beauty of this stent is that it's very easy to put in, but also easy to remove, should the need arise. Patients can have these stents for many years to hold open their urinary tract without the need for complex surgery.

The digital ureterscope is the latest technology which makes it possible to operate with tiny laser fibres inside the patient's kidney."

Barts and The London is one of Britain's top teaching hospital trusts. Our mission is literally to bring excellence to life - to give patients the best possible care so that they can live better, fuller, longer lives.

Our world-renowned hospitals - St Bartholomew's (Barts) in the City, The Royal London in Whitechapel and The London Chest in Bethnal Green - have made and continue to make an outstanding contribution to modern medicine.

Our £1 billion new hospitals programme is set to transform healthcare facilities locally. When completed the new hospital at The Royal London will be the biggest new hospital in the country, while the new buildings at Barts will house a brand-new cancer hospital and cardiac centre.

Source
Barts and The London

• Additional
• References
• Citations