Srinagar: Over 22,000 patients were treated at the Urology department at Government Medical College, Srinagar with urolithiasis which is emerging as the main urological problem among people.
Doctors told a local news gathering agency that the primary cause for urolithiasis is dietary habits, environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors.
Like other parts of the world, the disease is a major source of morbidity in Kashmir.
As per official figures, the department of Urology has conducted 2,547 major and 7,634 minor procedures since June 2017.
The number of major surgeries conducted by the department has increased from 270 in 2017 to 766 in 2022.
As per data, around 15,000 patients were treated at the IPD section of the department since June 2017 while around 90,000 were treated in the OPD section of the department.
The department has carried out 3,580 Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) procedures since June 2017 while in the same period 4,054 Uroflowmetry (UFM) and Urodynamic studies (UDS) procedures were carried out at the department.
590 emergency surgeries have been conducted by the department since 2017.
Kashmir being a cold area, people avoid taking more fluids and avoid frequent urination due to which urine becomes saturated with calcium, uric acid, and oxalates, which result in formation of renal stones and slowly with intake of salty food like Nun Chai, it leads to formation of stone, they said.
They advised people to take precautions like reducing salt intake, processed foods, canned goods and cold nuts and moderate mutton consumption.
The doctors also advised people to keep themselves hydrated. (KNO)