NEW equipment at Airedale Hospital will help transform treatment for patients with kidney and bladder stones.
A state-of-the-art £50,000 machine – known as a Swiss Lithoclast Trilogy Lithotripter – has been funded by the Airedale Hospital and Community Charity.
Most kidney and bladder stones are small enough to be passed out naturally, but larger ones can require breaking-up or removing surgically – a procedure carried out about 50 times a year by the hospital’s urology team.
The new equipment breaks-up and collects the stones using a single probe and enables clinicians to easily customise settings.
Hassan Khan, urology consultant at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are finding the equipment very useful.
“It is a newer model than what we had previously and is much more efficient, as it is handheld with one probe rather than two.
“The equipment is easier for us to use so there is opportunity for the patients to have surgery quicker, reducing their waiting time.”
Airedale Hospital and Community Charity is the official NHS charity of the foundation trust.
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