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My medical is almost up and I have had a kidneystone in the past 6 months. I was wanting some advice on how to handle this with the Dr.
Go to the urologist, get a letter stating that the stones have passed, that the imaging studies dont show any residual stones and that there is no systemic cause for you to make stones. Also get a copy of the notes from the ER visit.
And then do whatever doc Bruce here tells you to do :wink2:
And then do whatever doc Bruce here tells you to do :wink2:
Let'sgoflying!
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Not just any imaging; mri used to be the rule; kub xrays not. Need to see if this is still.
MRI is not a useful test for stones.
CT is the best test to FIND stones. For the purposes of airman certification you want the test to NOT find stones yet still to get it past the FAA.
KUB (just a regular old x-ray) is still accepted by the FAA to document absence of stones.
AggieMike88
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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
Unreg; if you have access to the AOPA board, there is some information that answers your question over there.
But Dr. Bruce will provide the most direct answer. Follow his directions and you will see success.
But Dr. Bruce will provide the most direct answer. Follow his directions and you will see success.
azure
Final Approach
Not always. If a previous CT revealed stones too small to be seen on a KUB but large enough to pass painfully, they apparently won't accept anything less than a CT. At least, that's what my AME told me...
Let'sgoflying!
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Thanks for the clarification. Was sure I'd been told otherwise...5+yrs ago.
Matthew
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Yeah - I heard the same thing with mine. If you originally get a CT that shows something that a KUB won't, and you need to prove you are clean, then you need the CT. Otherwise, get the KUB. It's been about 6 years since mine, but that's what I was told back then.
JeffDG
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Bingo...you need to eliminate your previous diagnosis...so if a CT was used to diagnose, then that's the minimum standard for clearing the situation...another reason not to do tests that are unnecessary.
Let'sgoflying!
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That's where I got that, mine were found/cleared by CT.
PS they found some of my bones are hollow (no joke) - I said, well I am an aviator. (birds have hollow bones)
PS they found some of my bones are hollow (no joke) - I said, well I am an aviator. (birds have hollow bones)
gprellwitz
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Grant Prellwitz
Dr. Bruce was answering specifically about a 2-yr old stone [thread=41865]here[/thread], but still useful...
bbchien
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Weilke has missed one very important point (which has disqualified some airmen): URIC acid stones are common and not seen on plain KUB x-ray.
There are three ways to certify an airman with a kidny stone:
(1) Prove there are no more.
(2) Prove over a ninety day span, there is no obstruction, no new stones, and no change in distribution of the stones (e.g, stability)---> special issuance
(3) Have sufficiently tiny and sufficeintly stable calcium deposits that the doc changes his diagnosis to "nephrocalcinosis", a condition where the ca++mg++ etc is incorporated into the lining of the tubles and therefore will never dislodge.
A KUB (simple X-ray) will not work on uric acid stones. They are not visible on Xray. THEREFORE, if you initial study was a KUB and it showed the stones, KUB is the $$ wise followup of choice.
If you have captured a stone and it's been sent to analysis, and we know it's a RADIODENSE stone, a KUB will be admissible.
If you were discovered by CT, your followup is a CT; however, if there is scientific reason to believe it's NOT a uric acid stone, you also get a KUB this time, so that next time a KUB can be the basis of next comparison.
There are three ways to certify an airman with a kidny stone:
(1) Prove there are no more.
(2) Prove over a ninety day span, there is no obstruction, no new stones, and no change in distribution of the stones (e.g, stability)---> special issuance
(3) Have sufficiently tiny and sufficeintly stable calcium deposits that the doc changes his diagnosis to "nephrocalcinosis", a condition where the ca++mg++ etc is incorporated into the lining of the tubles and therefore will never dislodge.
A KUB (simple X-ray) will not work on uric acid stones. They are not visible on Xray. THEREFORE, if you initial study was a KUB and it showed the stones, KUB is the $$ wise followup of choice.
If you have captured a stone and it's been sent to analysis, and we know it's a RADIODENSE stone, a KUB will be admissible.
If you were discovered by CT, your followup is a CT; however, if there is scientific reason to believe it's NOT a uric acid stone, you also get a KUB this time, so that next time a KUB can be the basis of next comparison.