What Are the Treatments?
If you've had a kidney stone once, you're at an increased risk for another one. A urologist is frequently involved in deciding whether you'll need an extensive medical evaluation, including testing the amounts of various minerals in your urine, to assess further risks of stone formation.
If your kidney stone is small, it may pass out of your body on its own, within a few days or weeks. Your doctor will most likely prescribe only plenty of water at first -- at least 3 quarts a day -- and a pain medication. A soak in a warm water bath or a hot-water bottle can also help ease the inevitable discomfort.
You may be asked to urinate through a strainer so the stone can be recovered and analyzed. Once the stone's composition is known, your doctor can prescribe medications or suggest dietary changes to help prevent another kidney stone. With calcium oxalate stones, your doctor may prescribe a thiazide diuretic, which prevents recurrences by decreasing the excretion of calcium in the urine.
If complications develop, such as an infection or total blockage of the ureter, the stone must be removed. Depending on its size, type, and location, the stone can be removed in one of several ways. It may be taken out either by conventional surgery or, more commonly, with a thin telescopic instrument. The surgeon passes the scope through the urethra into the bladder or ureter, and either pulls the stone out or bombards it with sound waves or laser. This breaks the stone up into tiny pieces that can pass out of the body on their own.
If the stone is lodged in the kidney, you'll likely have an incision in your side so the surgeon can access the kidney. Lithotripsy, which uses high-energy shock waves to break up kidney stones without surgery, may be used to remove some kidney stones.
WebMD Medical Reference
SOURCES: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. American Academy of Family Physicians. The Mayo Clinic. The Urology Institute.
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