Kidney Stones and Treatment

Kidney stones are crystals that form in your kidneys as the organs work to filter waste from your blood. There are four main types of kidney stones, each one related to its cause. The vast majority of kidney stones are calcium stones, which are created out of calcium and oxalate. If these substances are found in high concentration in your urine, you could develop calcium stones. Patients with chronic urinary tract infections sometimes suffer from struvite stones, which are caused by the bacteria that cause the infections. Uric stones, caused by protein metabolism, and cystine stones, a hereditary type of kidney stone, are both rare.

If you have kidney stones, you may not know it. Many patients have no symptoms until the kidney stone becomes large enough to cause problems. Pain in the back or side is the most common complaint stated by kidney stone patients. Sometimes patients will experience blood in their urine.

Treatment of Kidney Stones

If you suspect that you have a kidney stone, we will try to verify that fact through imaging tests, such as x-ray, ultrasound, or CT scan. If we find a stone, treatment will depend on the size and location of the stone. Most kidney stones can pass through the urinary tract without any problems. This is painful, but not dangerous, provided the stones are small enough. We will ask you to urinate into a strainer so that we can analyze the stone when it does pass. Drinking extra water will help the stone pass easier.

If your stones are too large to pass naturally, there are several treatment options available. We may use extracorporeal shock wave treatment to break the stones into smaller pieces. If shock wave treatment does not work, you may have to have a percutaneous nephrolithotomy. This surgery requires the physician to make an incision in your back in order to remove the kidney stone. Stones that are lodged in the ureter may need to be removed through an ureteroscopic procedure. Using an ureteroscope, the physician will remove the stone through the ureter.

Some patients suffer from chronic kidney stones. In these cases, we will recommend dietary and lifestyle changes to help the body better filter waste. Rarely, overactive parathyroid glands can cause kidney stones. In these cases, surgery on the glands is required.