Kidney stone disease One ureteroscopic technique involves the placement of a ureteral stent (a small tube extending from the bladder, up the ureter and into the kidney) to provide immediate relief of an obstructed kidney. Stent placement can be useful for saving a kidney at risk for postrenal acute renal failure due to the increased hydrostatic pressure, swelling and infection (pyelonephritis and pyonephrosis) caused by an obstructing stone. Ureteral stents vary in length from and most have a shape commonly referred to as a "double-J" or "double pigtail", because of the curl at both ends. They are designed to allow urine to flow
Bladder cancer to facilitate the absorption and action of a chemotherapy drug instilled directly into the bladder. Another technology - electromotive drug administration (EMDA) – uses an electric current to enhance drug absorption after surgical removal of the tumor. Another technology, thermotherapy, uses radio-frequency energy to directly heat the bladder wall, which together with chemotherapy shows a synergistic effect, enhancing each other's capacity to kill tumor cells. This technology has been studied by a number of different investigators. Untreated, superficial tumors may gradually begin to infiltrate the muscular wall of the bladder. Tumors that infiltrate the bladder wall require more radical surgery,