Stint Removal

[LarryG]

In a little over a week I am suppose to have the stint removed after I had my transplant over a month ago. For those who had this done what was their experience and what should I prepare for? I would hope to be put under. Should I worry or is it nothing to be concerned about? I was told it was not exactly pleasant for the male patients.

Larry

[edersham]

For me ,the event was much easier than I expected. Some pressure going in, but once they get ahold of it, the stint comes out like a strand of spagetti in about 2 seconds and that it. I think I had a couple of drops of blood in my urine over the next 24 hours but that is expected.

Ed

[Sax-O-Trix]

I had mine out 5 days ago.  Being female, my experience was significantly different from what yours will be, I am sure.  I had myself so worked up about the stent removal that I couldn't think about anything else for weeks  

The whole procedure itself was over in less than a minute.  I was able to watch the removal on the same monitor as the urologist.  Oddly, I had to request the numbing gel placed beforehand because apparently my urologist's office had stopped using the gel because it interferes with lab results (I told the nurse that I wasn't having anything done for the lab, so give me the numbing gel!!!) and I can honestly say the anticipation was worse than the actual removal.   No pain other than having my dignity hurt by having to bare my bottom, have my privates washed in antiseptic, having the gel placed and then the actual procedure.  Again, being male, your experience will obviously be different than mine because of the extra plumbing involved. 

To be blunt and truthful, the stent was not at all what I expected...  It looked like a plastic coated electrical (small gauge) wire w/o the metal wire inside the plastic - the urine flows through the center and it was curled at the ends to keep it in place.  Mine was about 4 inches long.  I was expecting something that looked more like a heart stent not something I would find in an electrical gadget or my toolbox.

I did not have any bleeding or discomfort after the removal.  I drove the 75 miles home and had a relaxing rest of the day because I no longer had to think about the dreaded stent removal   Talk with your doctor about the least stressful way to have the stent removed - the gel was enough for me, but perhaps not for a guy.

[Chris]

I tried to find the thread that had this discussion before, but did not find it.
 
Well for me it was nerve wracking and slightly painful. One, I didn't know what to expect, this was not discussed in pre transplant seminars or during hospital stay till release. Second, it is like getting a urinary cath stuck in and then taken out that is taking longer than usual, numbing cream did not help one bit, had a female nurse watching (not comfortable about that part), burned to urinate after procedure for a bit. It was not fun for me.

[Sax-O-Trix]

Chris - I encountered the same thing...  Nobody said anything about a stent placement.  I found out about it here and asked about it.  I also requested that a stent not be placed if at all possible.  Apparently not all surgeons use them.  When I had an ultrasound done two days post-tranplant, I asked the tech to look for a stent, she said she didn't find one, but that didn't mean I didn't have one.  Since nobody said anything about a stent placement post-transplant and the tech didn't see one, I thought I was off the hook.  Then I received a letter from a urologist's office at the hospital telling me they had scheduled an appointment to remove the stent...     I called my coordinator and asked her to look in the actual surgery notes to make sure one was placed because I didn't want the urologist to get in there and not find anything to remove.

A foley catheter placement would be a good description of the procedure, but the scope was much narrower in diameter and the numbing gel worked for me.  I have had caths placed before, but I was always under anesthesia so I didn't feel a thing and wasn't even embarassed, lol.

[chris73]

wasn't as  bad as i was making it out to be...whole procedure from start to finish lasted less than 10 mins...male nurse used a syringe (without a needle) to shoot some type numbing medicine down pee pee hole which numbed me instantly.I watched the same monitor as the Dr did as he inserted a "scope" in me and inserted some type of grabber to get a hold of it and pull it out.Not to be dreaded!! wouldn't wanted done everyday but been through worse..Hope this will easy your mind. God Bless!! Chris BTW little burning afterwards but no biggie

[kellyt]

My experience, as a woman, wasn't bad at all.  A tad uncomfortable, but no pain.  Good Luck. 

[cath-hater]

I had it done last October. They get you into  a standard room with a special chair.  First a nurse will come in the tell you to put on a gown, and NOTHING underneath.  She will explain everything to you. You sit on the chair and raise your gown up and expose yourself (yeehaw !).

Nurse will wipe betadine all over your genital area. Then she puts some numbing cream inside your urethra. Puts some cloth around the penis leaving it exposed for the doctor.

Doctor uses a cystoscope (flexible tube with camera at the end). It's small so it fits in the urethra.  They have saline flowing out of the cystoscope so it can travel up the urethra easier.

I had the exact same concerns you have. I was like, "You're gonna go up !@#! and pull what out of my @#$! ? But it's not bad.  There was a point where the pressure got slightly too much and I had to pinch my "butt-hole" muscle (sorry but that's the best way I can say it), but it was like a brief second.

Once the doctor grabs the stent, it comes out in one nice fluid motion. The sensation is like when you go pee.

All in all, the cystocope was in and out in less than a minute. It goes by realy quick. Before you can start complaining of any pain or un-easiness, it's over.

You may have to pee right after, because the saline they have running goes into your bladder and you automatically get the "pee" sensation.

It's normal to have slight stinging sensation when urinating afterwards. Mine went away the next day. Maybe a little blood. All normal.  The relief you have afterwards is awesome. You'll find that all the anxiety over it was unecessary.

I don't know about you, but when I got my transplant, they had a cath placed in my urethra for urine. If you had that already, then this should be nothing new to you.

[LarryG]

I had the stint removed that was placed in me after they transplanted the kidney via cystoscopy which is a procedure that was none too pleasant. However it is over with and with some discomfort, some bleeding and burns when I urinate. I guess no pain no gain. Hopefully after this it is smooth sailing.

[Sax-O-Trix]

Glad to hear you made it through relatively unscathed.  Was it as bad as you anticipated?

[RichardMEL]

Sorry that I missed this thread before the event Larry - glad to read it is over and done with without too many problems.

Just for completeness I'll recount my experience because it seems everyone (and I am going to focus on the males here since it's quite different for the genders) has a different one.

For me, it was almost comical in a way. I was dreading it, like most males, and having a female doc tell me it was "nothing" didn't help. lol

Anyway I came in and they basically said get on the couch, PULL YOUR JEANS AND UNDERWEAR DOWN (don't bother taking it off!! No serious!!  ) like back and think of England (glad I didn't think about Kate Middleton  ).

The whole thing was done in under 10 minutes. Yes, it's embarassing with these nurses wandering around while your junk's out in the limelight(as it were) and yeah I think the thought of what is actually going on is more scary/painful than the act. I would say the actual pain/discomort level is up there with having a catheter removed - it's not fun but it' over with relatively quickly. I think in sum total they had the thing in there for maybe 2-3 minutes (though it did seem longer) while they searched around for the stent, found it, and pulled the bugger out. Injecting the liquid local or whatever it was was unpleasant but I suppose once it kicked in it was mostly OK apart from having some bloke mucking around with you down there in a way you don't want!!!

Really though it was a relief to have done, but I would agree with everyone else that says it's almost like the bark is worse than the bite.

[LarryG]

Richard, I am not sure if there was not a bite. The nurse I had was good. She put in the numbing cream which I supposed helped and the second woman was just assisting because she was new and wanted to know if this was going to be her next career move. I was put on a table told to remove everything except my shirt and they gave me a hospital gown. It was when the doctor came in and he put the probe in was when I felt everything. He said there was a possibility my prostate was enlarged and I think that was most of the problem. Felt like it took longer than it really was. I survived and I still wish I had been put under. I did not sleep all night and with all that has gone on in the last six weeks including the transplant...this seemed the most stressful.
I know that is silly, but glad it is over.

[C904]

I know you already had the stint removed, but I want to give my take on it hoping my experience could help someone out.  Here is a good rule of thumb as to whether or not you should be put under to have the stint removed.  If you felt tremendous and I do mean tremendous pain when they removed your catheter after the transplant make sure you call the Urologist and request to be put under.  I had a major surgery twenty years ago and I was still in recovery and I had just opened my eyes when a nurse said we are going to remove your catheter and next thing I know I experience the worst quick burst of pain I ever had in my whole life.  Jump ahead to my transplant and all four days I had the catheter in I had several occurrences with urine backing up from the long drain hose and it hurt really bad and every time the different nurses looked at me like I was nuts.  When they took out the catheter I started screaming so loud a nurse came flying up the hall to see what was going on.  Just like twenty years ago when I had the catheter out it was a pain that was off the charts.  I went to see the Urologist to have the stint out and it is a very large practice with a ton of elderly patients, so this doc is a real pro at it and he has probably done a ton of them over the years.  The nurse puts in the numbing gel and I thought it was just a saline rinse because I was in a ton of pain as she was putting the numbing gel in.  The doc comes in and he spends literally three seconds in me and he stops because I jumped twice and he could see I was in a ton of pain.  He stopped and said we get one or two a year that we have to put under because of the pain.  He was real cool and he said the procedure barely lasts a minute, but you can't do it awake.  After he left the room the nurse tells me I made her jump because I was bouncing around so much, I said to her I thought they give you some kind of numbing gel for this and she said I already did earlier.  I was shocked because I could not imagine what it would have felt like without the numbing gel.

I know I am in the minority because the nurse at the hospital who took out the catheter remarked she never witnessed a reaction like I had from removing a catheter.  If anyone reading this had a ton of pain getting the catheter out I would see if they would agree to knock you out for the stint removal because the catheter is out in say three to five seconds, now imagine that same pain for fifty to sixty seconds. 

[natnnnat]

I tried to find the thread that had this discussion before, but did not find it.

I found this, in case someone comes back to this thread, and is wondering about other threads, this one has some detailed discussion...
http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=11377.0