Kidney Stone Treatment
Treatment will keep you comfortable and lessen kidney pain until you're able to pass the stone. Doctors will surgically remove large stones and those that cause an infection.
Nonsurgical treatments for kidney stones
About 80% of very small stones (4 mm or less) will pass on their own. But it can take weeks or months.
You may have kidney pain until it passes, so your doctor might suggest that you:
- Drink more water.
- Take a pain reliever.
- Take medication to reduce the acidity of your pee.
- Take medicine to help relax the ureter, making it easier to pass the stone.
Surgical treatments for kidney stones
Larger kidney stones and those that cause a blockage or infection may need one of the following surgeries.
Shock wave lithotripsy (SWL)
SWL is a noninvasive, outpatient treatment. High-energy sound waves are directed toward the stone to reduce its size, so it can pass in your urine.
The surgery takes about an hour, plus recovery time.
Your surgeon will use either:
- Light sedation
- Local anesthesia
- General anesthesia
SWL is best for stones located in the kidney. It can remove about 50% of kidney stones within one month, but you may also need further treatments.
Ureteroscopy
Ureteroscopy is usually an outpatient treatment to remove stones from the ureter, near the bladder.
Your surgeon will insert a flexible scope through the bladder and into the ureter. This allows the surgeon to see and remove the stone with the scope.
The procedure takes one to three hours under general anesthesia.
Potential risks of ureteroscopy include:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Damage to the ureter
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy and nephrolithotripsy
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy and nephrolithotripsy are more invasive surgeries, but they're the most effective at removing kidney stones.
Surgeons use them to remove very large or oddly shaped stones. They're also an option if you're not a candidate for the other procedures.
During the surgery, your surgeon makes a small incision in your back. He or she then removes the stone either through a tube (nephrolithotomy) or crushes it with soundwaves and removes it (nephrolithotripsy).
The procedure itself takes 20 to 45 minutes and requires general anesthesia. You'll stay at the hospital for two to three days and heal at home for about one week.
Potential risks include:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Injury to nearby organs
Diet changes
The following changes to your diet can help prevent future kidney stones:
- Drink 8 to 13 cups of water daily. Adding some fresh lemon or lime juice to your water helps make your pee less acidic.
- Eat less meat and more fruits and veggies to keep your urine less acidic.
- Limit sugar-sweetened drinks especially those with high fructose corn syrup.
- Maintain a healthy weight. People with a BMI over 30 kg/m2 are at higher risk of forming stones.
- Eat less salt by skipping processed, packaged, canned, and fast foods.
- Avoid high oxalate foods like spinach, beets, rhubarb, wheat bran, nuts, chocolate, and tea.
- Get enough calcium in your diet. Try to eat two to three calcium-rich dairy foods like Greek yogurt or low-fat milk each day. Leafy green vegetables, tofu, and almonds are good non-dairy sources of calcium. Don't take calcium supplements unless your doctor says you can.
Contrary to popular belief, too much calcium in the diet doesn't cause calcium stones. Calcium from your diet binds oxalate and may reduce your risk of having a future kidney stone.
You should also avoid high doses of vitamin C (>1,000 mg/day), because it forms extra oxalate in your body.
Your UPMC health care team includes registered dietitians who can work with you to structure a diet plan to reduce your risk.