Kidney Stones

• What is a kidney stone?
• What causes kidney stones?
• Types of kidney stones
• How common are kidney stones?
• What are the symptoms of Kidney stones?
• What is the treatment for kidney stone?
• I think I have a stone. What do I do?
• What are the long-term consequences of kidney stones?
• How are kidney stones diagnosed?
• Why do doctors examine the contents of the stone?
• Can children get kidney stones?

What is a kidney stone?

A hard object that is formed from the chemical present in the urine. Basically, kidney stones are of four types: uric acid, calcium oxalate, struvite and cystine. Kidney stones are one of the common reasons why people visit a Kidney stone specialist in Hyderabad. If neglected kidney stones can lead to kidney failure.

What causes kidney stones?

Kidney stones are formed when the body produces excess chemicals and their concentration becomes high in the urine. Many factors contribute to stone formation like genetics, environment, your diet and fluid intake. Certain foods can contribute to stone formation in the ones who are susceptible.

Types of kidney stones
There are different types of kidney stones like calcium oxalate, phosphate, uric acid, Struvite and Cystine.

Uric Acid Stones

Diets rich in animal protein like meat, fish, shellfish can promote uric acid stone formation due to high concentrations of purines. Monosodium urate is formed due to high purine intake. High concentrations of monosodium urate under apt conditions may form kidney stones. In most of the cases, these types of stone formation run in families.

Calcium Oxalate stones: These are formed when oxalate combines with calcium. These are the most common type of kidney stone.

Cystine Stones: These stones are rare and often run-in families.

Struvite: People who have recurrent urine infections are at higher risk of forming this type of stones. It is very important to know what type of stone a person has or is forming.

How common are kidney stones?

Many people have kidney stones that are asymptomatic. In many cases, they are detected incidentally. According to experts, one in 10 people will develop kidney stones at some time in their lives. Millions of people visit emergency rooms due to kidney stone problems and sudden kidney pain. The risk of kidney stone formation is higher than in women. Obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure are the risk factors for kidney stone formation.

What are the symptoms of kidney stones?
Kidney stone symptoms: small kidney stones do not cause symptoms – some stones are very small – just like a grain of sand, others are large and a very few are very large. In general, the symptoms are noticeable if the stone is large.

Typical signs and symptoms associated with kidney stones include:

• Severe pain on either side of your lower back
• Urine that looks cloudy or smells bad
• Fever and chills
• Nauseas or vomiting
• Blood in the urine
• Vague abdominal pain or stomach ache (persistent)

Sometimes kidney stones pass without hurting or damaging, but causing pain. In some causes when kidney stones irritate or block urine, they case severe pain and discomfort.

What is the treatment for kidney stones?

Kidney Stone Treatment in Hyderabad: The type of treatment depends on the nature, type, size, and position of the kidney stones. If you have a small stone or stones, your doctor may advise you to drink a lot of water to flush it out of the body. This is how the doctors let the stone pass without surgery. Your doctor may prescribe medicines to make your urine less acidic. They also prescribe pain relievers for some time. If you develop lasting symptoms and other complications, you may require other treatments including surgery as well.

You may also have other kidney stone treatment in Hyderabad that are less invasive – such as shockwave lithotripsy, uteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, or nephrolithotripsy.

Shock-wave lithotripsy: A nephrologist uses high-energy sound waves to break the stones into fragments so that they can pass out of the kidney through urine. It is a non-invasive procedure.

Ureteroscopy: In this procedure, doctors use an endoscope to obliterate or retrieve kidney stones through the ureter.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (nephrolithotripsy): It is a procedure for complicated and large stones removed from the kidneys.

In the following cases, you may need surgery to remove the kidney stones: if the stone is large and causing infection due to obstruction.

I think I have a stone. What do I do?

• First step is to seek help from a Kidney stone specialist doctor – mostly a nephrologist and to know the possible reasons behind stone formation.
• You will need to undergo some blood tests and urine tests and scans to confirm the type of stone.
• If the stone can be caught while passing urine or taken if a person is needing surgery and then sent for further chemical analysis, then doctors can confirm the type of stone.
• Drink 3 to 4 liters of water to keep the chemicals in the urine diluted so they do not form stones.
• Dietary advice will be given by doctor depending on the type of stone to prevent future stone formation
• Children with stones or others with family history will need genetic tests to determine any genetic abnormalities.

What are the long-term consequences of kidney stones?

There are many severe long-term consequences of having kidney stones untreated. If you have one stone, then you may be at an increased risk of developing another stone within the next 3 to 5 years (the risk is approximately 50%). Kidney stones can cause damage to kidneys and also increase the risk of chronic kidney disease and kidney failure.

How are kidney stones Diagnosed?

Kidney stone diagnosis is crucial for kidney stones specialist (nephrologist) or a kidney stone doctor in Hyderabad.

Dr. Kavitha Gone starts the diagnosis by taking into account the physical examination, medical history and by ordering imaging tests. She wants to know the exact size and shape of the stone to advise appropriate treatment for the patient. A KUB (kidney-Ureter-Bladder X-ray) or a CT scan is often recommended to know the exact size and position of the stone. Based on the results of these tests the doctor decides whether the patient need shock wave treatment. A CT scan is usually preferred for the diagnosis of kidney stone. Whereas, a KUB test is used to monitor the stone before and after treatment. Another test called IVP (intravenous pyelogram) may be recommended in some cases. It is a special type of X-ray taken after injecting a dye. After confirming the diagnosis, size and position, she decides which treatment to initiate. Your kidney’s health is also crucial aspect to initiate treatment. It is evaluated by some urine and blood tests.

Why do a Kidney stones specialist examine the contents of the stone?

Later, your doctor will want to find the cause of the stone. The stone will be analyzed after it comes out of your body, and your doctor will test your blood for calcium, phosphorus and uric acid. The doctor may also ask that you collect your urine for 24 hours to test for calcium and uric acid.

Any kidney stone doctor in Hyderabad wants to study the stone and the type to understand why you developed it and how to reduce the risk of further stones formation. Calcium is the major substance in kidney stones and it’s also a component of healthy diet. Kidneys remove excess calcium from the body but some people keep excess calcium – which then combines with oxalate crystals to form stones (calcium oxalate stones). Struvite stones containing ammonia and magnesium are formed due to infections. Urate crystals are due to dietary factors and obesity. They are formed from monosodium urate crystals. Cystine stones tend to run in families.

Can Children Get Kidney Stones?

Pediatric kidney stones have become very common due to changing lifestyles and unhealthy eating habits. Children as young as 5 to 6 years are reported to have kidney stones. In some areas, the problem is very common. We at Bright Kidney Centre provide care for pediatric patients with kidney stones. There are many reasons for the increase in kidney stone cases among children. The most significant factors among those are two – not drinking enough fluids – fresh water and natural fruit juices and the next crucial factor is high salt and sugar intake. Children nowadays prefer eating excessively salty potato chips and French fries. They also take packaged meals, canned soups, sandwich meats, soft drinks, and other sodas and sweetened beverages. Any drink or beverage that contains excess high fructose corn syrup can also increase the risk of kidney stones in children.

For the best kidney stone treatment in Hyderabad, meet Dr. Kavitha Gone at Bright Kidney Centre.