Urine contains many dissolved minerals and salts. When your urine has high levels of these minerals and salts, you can form stones. Kidney stones can start small but can grow larger in size, even filling the inner hollow structures of the kidney. Some stones stay in the kidney, and do not cause any problems. Sometimes, the kidney stone can travel down the ureter, the tube between the kidney and the bladder. If the stone reaches the bladder, it can be passed out of the body in urine. If the stone becomes lodged in the ureter, it blocks the urine flow from that kidney and causes pain.
Kidney stones come in many different types and colors. How you treat them and stop new stones from forming depends on what type of stone you have.
Calcium stones (80 percent of stones)
Uric acid stones (5-10 percent of stones)
Struvite/infection stones (10 percent of stones)
Cystine stones (less than 1 percent of stones)
Treatment depends on the type of stone, how bad it is and the length of time you have had symptoms. There are different treatments to choose from. It is important to talk to your health care provider about what is best for you.
Wait for the stone to pass by itself
Often you can simply wait for the stone to pass. Smaller stones are more likely than larger stones to pass on their own.
Waiting up to four to six weeks for the stone to pass is safe as long as the pain is bearable, there are no signs of infection, the kidney is not completely blocked and the stone is small enough that it is likely to pass. While waiting for the stone to pass, you should drink normal amounts of water. You may need pain medication when there is discomfort.
Shock Wave Lithotripsy (SWL) is used to treat stones in the kidney and ureter. Shock waves are focused on the stone using X-rays or ultrasound to pinpoint the stone. Repeated firing of shock waves on the stone usually causes the stone to break into small pieces. These smaller pieces of stones pass out in the urine over a few weeks
Ureteroscopy (URS) is used to treat stones in the kidney and ureter. URS involves passing a very small telescope, called an ureteroscope, into the bladder, up the ureter and into the kidney. Rigid telescopes are used for stones in the lower part of the ureter near the bladder. Flexible telescopes are used to treat stones in the upper ureter and kidney.
Percutaneous Lithotripsy (PCNL) is the best treatment for large stones in the kidney. General anesthesia is needed to do a PCNL. PCNL involves making a half-inch incision (cut) in the back or side, just large enough to allow a rigid telescope (nephroscope) to be passed into the hollow center part of the kidney where the stone is located.
Other kidney surgery is rarely used to remove stones. Open, laparoscopic or robotic surgery may be used only if all other less invasive procedures fail.
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