Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are very common and normally very painful. They are most often caused by an imbalance of urinary chemicals that promote and prevent crystallization. They are often hereditary. If left untreated, stones may damage the kidneys, and will usually reform.

Types of kidney stones:

• Calcium oxalate
• Calcium phosphate
• Cystine
• Magnesium ammonium phosphate
• Uric acid

The good news about treating kidney stones is that we have truly wonderful technology such as lasers and shock wave machines that can rid you of your stone in a minimally invasive way. The best news is that once we are done treating the stone you have, we can find out why you make stones and using diet and/or medications, we can prevent you from making any more stones.

Symptoms:

• Blood in the urine
• Nausea or vomiting
• Pain in the side or back
• Urination frequency

Diagnosis is accomplished by:

• Computerized tomographic scan (CT)
• Intravenous pyelogram (IVP)
• Kidney ultrasound
• Retrograde pyelogram

Treatment modalities:

If a stone is blocking/obstructing a kidney:

• Cystoscopy and stent (temporary drainage tube) placement
• Percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement

Once the kidney is safely unblocked, the stone can be treated with:

• Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL)
• Percutaneous lithotripsy (used mainly for larger stones)
• Ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy

Prevention:

Metabolic evaluation:
Analysis of two 24-hour urine collections may be utilized to identify molecular content that promotes and inhibits stone formation. On the basis of those findings, dietary adjustments and/or medication can restore the appropriate balance of promoters and inhibitors. This approach has a 95% success rate in the prevention of recurrent stones.

Common metabolic abnormalities: