Not entirely sure how long. The procedure is probably 30-45 minutes. I think the stent is placed in order to hold the urethra open after the procedure for the irritation and inflammation so you can pee. I believe its only there for a couple of days. You don't want a full bladder with a blocked outlet believe you me. :-) I have heard of going to the doc's office to pull it out and also being instructed to pull it out yourself. Like a lot of things, I only see one phase of the care. I don't go down with my patient for the procedure as I have 5 others too. Then the patient goes home fairly quickly before the stent is pulled. You can avoid all this by passing the stone before then. Are you straining your urine to find the stone? I'm not that much help, but you are welcome. We all pull together for the JAMB. :-)