KIDNEY STONE TREATMENT

Kidney Stone Management In Richmond, Virginia

What Are Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones are solid masses made of crystals. Kidney stones usually originate in your kidneys. However, they can develop anywhere along your urinary tract: kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra. Kidney stones are one of the most painful medical conditions. The causes of kidney stones vary according to the type of stone.

Kidney Stone Treatment

Your kidneys remove waste and fluid from your blood to make urine. Sometimes, when you have too much of certain wastes and not enough fluid in your blood, these wastes can build up and stick together in your kidneys. These clumps of waste are called kidney stones.

If you have a history of kidney stones or you are concerned about them, contact our kidney specialists at Richmond Nephrology Associates for treatment.

Kidney stone treatment
Kidney stone treatment

Types Of Kidney Stones

Not all kidney stones are made up of the same crystals. The different types of kidney stones include:

  • Calcium – Most common. Eating fewer oxalate-rich foods can reduce your risk of developing this type of stone. High-oxalate foods include potato chips, peanuts, chocolate, beets and spinach. Even though some kidney stones are made of calcium, getting enough calcium in your diet can prevent stones from forming.

  • Uric acid – More common in men than in women. This type of stone develops when urine is too acidic. They can occur in people with gout or those going through chemotherapy. A diet rich in purines can increase urine’s acidic level. Purine is a colorless substance in animal proteins, such as fish, shellfish, and meats.

  • Struvite – Mostly in women with urinary tract infections (UTIs). These stones can be large and cause urinary obstruction. They result from a kidney infection. Treating an underlying infection can prevent the development of struvite stones.

  • Cystine – Rare. They occur in both men and women who have the genetic disorder cystinuria. With this type of stone, cystine — an acid that occurs naturally in the body — leaks from the kidneys into the urine.

Risk Factors For Kidney Stones

  • Greatest risk factor – making less than 1 liter of urine per day. 

  • Most likely to occur in people between the ages of 20 and 50.

  • White people are more likely to have kidney stones than black people.

  • More men than women develop kidney stones.

  • A history of kidney stones. 

  • A family history of kidney stones.

  • Dehydration

  • Obesity

  • Diet with high levels of protein, salt, or glucose

  • Hyperparathyroid condition

  • Gastric bypass surgery

  • Inflammatory bowel diseases that increase calcium absorption

  • Taking medications certain medications (triamterene diuretics, antiseizure drugs, and calcium-based antacids)

Recognizing The Symptoms And Signs Of A Kidney Stone

Severe pain is the most common symptom of kidney stones. Symptoms of kidney stones may not occur until the stone begins to move down the ureters. This severe pain is called renal colic. You may have pain on one side of your back or abdomen. In men, pain may radiate to the groin area. The pain of renal colic comes and goes but can be intense. People with renal colic tend to be restless due to the pain.

Other symptoms of kidney stones can include:

In the case of a small kidney stone, you may not have any pain or symptoms as the stone passes through your urinary tract.

If you have a history of kidney stones or you are concerned about them, contact our kidney specialists at Richmond Nephrology Associates for treatment.

  • Blood in the urine (red, pink, or brown urine)

  • Vomiting

  • Nausea

  • Discolored or foul-smelling urine

  • Chills

  • Fever

  • Frequent need to urinate

  • Urinating small amounts of urine

Why Kidney Stones Can Be A Problem

Stones don’t always stay in the kidney. Sometimes they pass from the kidney into the ureters. Ureters are small and delicate, and the stones may be too large to pass smoothly down the ureter to the bladder. Passage of stones down the ureter can cause spasms and irritation of the ureters. This causes blood to appear in the urine. Sometimes stones block the flow of urine. This is called a urinary obstruction. Urinary obstructions can lead to kidney infection and kidney damage.

If you have a history of kidney stones or you are concerned about them, contact our kidney specialists at Richmond Nephrology Associates for treatment.

What Are The Treatments For Kidney Stones?

The treatment for a kidney stone depends on the size of the stone, what it is made of, whether it is causing pain and whether it is blocking your urinary tract. To answer these questions and figure out the right treatment for you, your doctor might ask you to have a urine test, blood test, x-ray or CT scan.

If your test results show that your kidney stone is small, your doctor may tell you to take pain medicine and drink plenty of fluids to help push the stone through your urinary tract. If your kidney stone is large or blocks your urinary tract, additional treatment may be necessary.

One treatment option is shock wave lithotripsy. This treatment uses shock waves to break up the kidney stones into small pieces. After the treatment, the small pieces of the kidney stone will pass through your urinary tract and out of your body with your urine. This treatment usually takes 45 minutes to one hour and may be done under general anesthesia, which means you will be asleep and unable to feel pain.

Another treatment option is ureteroscopy. This treatment is also done under general anesthesia. The doctor uses a long tool shaped like a tube to find and remove the stone or find and break the stone into small pieces. If the stone is small, the doctor may be able to remove it. If it is large, it may need to be broken into pieces. In this case, a laser will be used to break the stone into pieces that are small enough to pass through your urinary tract.

If you have a history of kidney stones or your doctor recommends seeing a specialist, contact our kidney specialists at Richmond Nephrology Associates for treatment.