Hyderabad, Dec 22 (IANS): Doctors at the Aware Global Hospitals here have removed as many as 55 stones of different sizes from the left kidney of a 60-year-old woman by advanced endoscopy and minimal invasive surgery.

It is among the rarest-of-rare cases when the patient had kidney stones in such large numbers, causing severe distress to her prior to the surgical procedure.

The woman reported at the hospital with acute abdominal pain during urination, and nausea and vomiting during pain, which were likely symptoms of kidney-related problem. The patient had undergone treatment for pain and vomitings from a local doctor but was not investigated for the underlying cause of her symptoms.

Left untreated, kidney stones can block the ureter. It increases the risk of infection or built-up of urine to put added strain on kidneys, causing more damage to them with time.

"Thorough assessment using renography and CT scan indicated the presence of small- to medium-sized stones in the left kidney with pelvi ureteric junction obstruction, prompting the team to opt for an endoscopic and minimally invasive surgical procedure to extract the stones and to treat PUJ obstruction. The procedure lasted for two and a half hours, and we were able to remove all the stones from the kidney, without any complications," said Dr P Naveen Kumar, senior consultant urologist and andrologist, Aware Global Hospitals.

Post-surgery, the patient was kept under observation for 48 hours before she was discharged from the hospital.

Patient's renal health is getting monitored from time to time and her recovery is on satisfactory lines. Dr Venu Manne, consultant, urology, also participated in the medical procedure.