Kidney Stone

Kidney stones are one of the most painful of the urologic disorders. Stones form in the kidney and sometimes travel from the kidney down the ureter (the tube that carries the urine from the kidney) into the bladder. This can obstruct the flow of urine, thereby putting pressure on the kidney, leading to pain, nausea and vomiting.  Most kidney stones pass out of the body without intervention. Stones that cause lasting symptoms, severe pain and vomiting or other complications may be treated by various techniques.

Treatment options include extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), a procedure that entails placing a machine on the outside of the body and focusing sound waves on the stone to fragment it, and ureteroscopy, placing a camera through the urethra into the bladder and then up the ureter, breaking the stone and removing it under direct vision.  Some stones may be treated medically, specifically uric acid stones.  For very large stones within the kidney, a more aggressive surgical intervention called a percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is performed. This procedure entails developing a tract from the back directly into the kidney, then utilizing a larger camera and larger instruments to fragment and remove the stone through this tract.  Dietary and lifestyle modifications can be made so as to decrease your risk for developing kidney stones.  These include increasing daily water intake, decreasing salt intake and decreasing red meat intake.