KIDNEY STONES - TYPES, CAUSES AND PREVENTION & LASER TREATMENT

Kidney stones are clusters of solid masses or crystals formed in your kidneys made up of minerals, salts, and acid.

They can be very small that you may not notice you have them and at other times, they can be large enough to cause serious discomfort.

The smaller kidney stones can be passed out in the urine with no pain or sometimes it may cause severe pain as they pass through the urinary tract.

Larger stones may be trapped along the ureter and cause a urinary tract obstruction, and require a procedure to fragment them up or remove them.

SYMPTOMS

-Dysuria (Painful urination)

-Haematuria (bloody urine with pink, red, or brown colour)

-Difficulty in passing urine due to blockage

-Nausea and vomiting

-Frequent urge to pass urine

-Foul-smelling and cloudy urine

-Fever and chills

-Urinate a small volume of urine

The pain that comes with kidney stones may not be felt until urine begins to travel down the tract.

Severe pain due to this is called renal colic.

You are likely to feel it on one side of your abdomen and back – typically from loin to groin.  

The pain may come and go, but is likely to intensify each time

All kidney stones are not the same.  Based on the content of the stone, kidney stones have been classified into 4 types.

TYPES OF KIDNEY STONES

1.Calcium stones - this is the most common type of kidney stones. 

They are mostly calcium oxalate crystals but calcium phosphate and calcium malate stones may be involved sometimes.

They usually form when you eat food high in oxalate and low in calcium.

2. Uric Acid Stones –

This type often occurs in people with; gout, diabetes, and obesity.

People who also eat large amounts of animal proteins are likely to come down with this type of kidney stone.

Examples are; fish, eggs, pork, beef, poultry

3. Struvite Stones - This type of kidney stone is a combination of ammonium, magnesium, phosphate, and calcium carbonate.

These stones are likely to form in people with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). They are usually large stones.

4. CYSTEINE STONES 

This type of stones rare and occurs in people with an inherited metabolic condition called cystinuria. A condition that leads to high cystine in your urine. Both men and women are at risk, as long as they have this inherited condition

RISK FACTORS OF KIDNEY STONES

-Dehydration

-Eating high levels of protein

-Excessive intake of vitamin C supplements, Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)

-Family history of UTIs

-Eating too much sugar and salts

-Obesity

-History of gastric bypass surgery

-Excessive intake of medications like; certain antacids, certain diuretics, and anti-seizure drugs

HEALTH CONDITIONS THAT CAN INCREASE RISK

-Diabetes

-Gout

-Parathyroid disease

-Cystic fibrosis

-High blood pressure

-Inflammatory bowel disease

-Osteoporosis

COMPLICATIONS IF LEFT UNTREATED

-Hydronephrosis; a condition where a blockage in the urinary tract leads to a back-up of urine, making the kidneys swell due to excessive fluid.

-Kidney infections

-Acute kidney injury

-Chronic kidney disease

-Recurrent UTI

PREVENTION OF KIDNEY STONES

-Drink enough water to pass out enough urine

-Eat a moderate amount of animal proteins

-Limiting foods high in sugar and salt

-Eat a moderate amount of foods containing oxalates

-Maintaining a healthy weight

-Treat UTIs once they show up

-Eat foods that are rich in calcium

DIAGNOSIS

-Urine testing 

-Imaging - X-ray, Ultrasound. CT scan is confirmatory.

-Blood testing; Kidney Function test

TREATMENT

If you ever feel the symptoms of kidney stones, kindly see a doctor immediately.

Effective treatment approaches include;

-Lifestyle modifications

-Medications

-At Hande Hospital, RIRS (Retrograde Intrarenal Surgery), a minimally invasive procedure is performed to remove the stones from the kidney and Ureter.

We use Laser (Thulium) to fragment the stone into dust, which is passed out naturally in the urine. A flexible viewing tube known as a flexible ureteroscope is passed into the kidney. Laser fibre is passed through it to pulverise the stone. The best aspect of RIRS is that there is no need for an incision. A Double ‘J’ Stent may be inserted after the procedure which is removed a couple of weeks later. It is performed by our Urologist. Kindly contact our Urologist, Dr.Raajiv Dorai for further information. Kindly contact 9841011390 for an appointment. You could also visit for further information.