Kidney Stones Treatment

Kidney stones treatment involves determining the size and makeup of the kidney stones, managing pain, removing the stones, and prevention of reoccurrence. These stones, also called renal calculi or renal stones are small solid masses consisting of minerals and acid salts. A person will usually have to go through a “wait and see” period, to find out if they can pass a kidney stone using a natural medicine holistic approach without standardized  kidney stones treatment or urologic surgery, which could take days, weeks, or even months. Because passing the renal stone can be extremely painful, our team of urology specialists may prescribe pain medication.

Kidney stones treatment comes in different forms, depending on symptoms and the results of diagnostic tests. Some patients with a renal calculus will feel abnormal urinary symptoms, such as pain in the back or side just below the ribs. The pain can move into your abdomen or groin as the stone moves through your urinary tract. Other symptoms include urinary retention or blood in urine, which can be microscopic hematuria (blood only seen under a microscope) or gross hematuria (blood seen by the naked eye). Men may have frequent urination or urinary retention which can also be misinterpreted as prostate symptoms or bladder symptoms from a cancer bladder tumor growth. A prostate exam diagnoses the need for prostate surgery for BPH or prostate cancer surgery such as a robotic radical prostatectomy called da Vinci prostatectomy, prostate cryosurgery, or prostate radiation. Since symptoms from the different urinary organs are so similar, it is important to have professional diagnostic tests performed.

The way to cure kidney stones is to try and prevent them from developing again. Some kidney stones remedies include changing your diet, taking certain vitamins, and drinking more fluids. Consuming natural medicines and eating foods with certain minerals, combined with any prescription medicine to dissolve kidney stones, can also lower your risk of developing kidney stones in the future. 

For some patients, the kidney stone may be too large to pass on its own. Other times the stone can cause bleeding or recurrent urinary tract infections. In these cases, a patient may require more invasive kidney stone treatment, such as kidney surgery to remove the stone with a small basket, laser treatment to pulverize the stones, or a lithotripsy to break up the stones into smaller pieces. If the kidney stone damages the renal pelvis then a da Vinci surgery called pyeloplasty may be performed to fix and put together the ureteral pelvic junction.

Kidney stones treatment varies for each person, depending on the type of stone and the causes. Kidney stones can be detected through different means. Our doctors at Urology Specialists will perform a series of diagnostic tests to determine if your symptoms are caused by kidney stones or another urological condition such as a kidney mass from renal cell carcinoma. A urinalysis and blood test can help doctors determine the cause. Imaging tests, like an abdominal CT scan, MRI, x-rays, ultrasound, or an intravenous pyelogram (IVP) can tell the size and location of the renal stones. If a stone has passed already, our doctors can analyze the composition of the stone and help develop a plan to prevent the stones from returning.

Kidney Stones Treatment (continued)