Newest Treatment for Painful Kidney Stones Can Be Performed at Outpatient Center

In some people, urine chemicals in the kidneys crystallize and begin to form what's called a kidney stone. Kidney stones begin very small - smaller than a grain of sand - but then gradually grow. On rare occasions, kidney stones have been known to get as big as a golf ball. Depending on where a stone is located in the kidney, it may not cause any problems. But if it moves into the ureter, it can act as a dam and cause pressure and severe, if not excruciating, pain.

Although painful, some kidney stones are small enough to pass without medical intervention. But if one or more stones are too large to pass and are high in the ureter near the kidney, extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy may be considered.

Dr. Jed Kaminetsky is a clinical assistant professor of urology at New York University School of Medicine and Associate Medical Director at Gramercy Surgery Center in New York. In a Dec. 7 press release, Kaminetsky gives a simple explanation of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. He says the procedure involves between 60 and 120 bursts of high-energy shock waves applied to the areas where the kidney stones are located. The shocks vibrate the urine surrounding the stones, causing them to break into tiny pieces small enough to pass into the bladder and through the system. However, according to the eMedicineHealth website, kidney stones that are lodged nearer the bladder do not have surrounding urine to allow this procedure to work and other intervention may be necessary.

Kaminetsky says that extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy "is a real breakthrough for many patients with kidney stones, because it is effective, comfortable and safe - even for those who are considered high-risk candidates for invasive surgery. This procedure has fast become the gold standard in treating a majority of kidney stone cases that require intervention."

During the lithotripsy procedure, anesthesia is not used, and the patient lies on either a mattress filled with water or in a shallow tub of warm water. Once the kidney stones are located, the procedure itself takes less than an hour. Generally a patient can leave the clinic and return immediately to normal activities. The tiny stone fragments don't pass immediately, and there may be some mild pain when they do pass - usually within two or three days.

Both Kaminetsky and eMedicineHealth assert that a person can reduce the risk of developing kidney stones, if not prevent them altogether. Of primary importance is keeping one's urine diluted - clear and pale. In other words, drinking eight or more glasses of water a day will help keep the chemical crystals from forming a stone. Kaminetsky also says that grapefruit juice and too much vitamin C, vitamin D, protein and sodium may increase the risk of kidney stones. It's unclear how much is too much, however. eMedicineHealth says that kidney stones may also be hereditary, and anyone with recurrent stones may be prescribed medication to help prevent them.

Regardless, anyone who has experienced the excruciating pain of kidney stones is unlikely to forget the experience, and extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy is a welcomed and relatively quick treatment procedure.

Sources:

Press release, "Newest Kidney Stone Treatment Makes Curing Painful, Common Condition Easier;" http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/12/prweb574616.htm

eMedicineHealth; http://www.emedicinehealth.com/kidney_stones/page6_em.htm