1. Flush Out the Stones
Kidney stones, small, rock-like lumps of minerals that can build up in your kidneys, will usually pass through your system on their own. To speed them along, drink several quarts of water per day. Use pain medication if the stones hurt as your body passes them. Save the stones so that your urologist can analyze their consistency. This will help your physician to formulate a treatment plan to make sure that you don't keep forming kidney stones
2. Shock the Stones
Kidney stones that won't pass on their own may require treatment by Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL). A machine called a lithotripter emits shock waves that break the stones into small pieces that can pass through the urinary tract. While you undergo EWSL, you may be anaesthetized, but the procedure is relatively painless and does not require a hospital stay or an extended recovery time. You may experience bloody urine for several days following the treatment, and there may be discomfort as the small pieces pass. If these pieces do not pass easily on their own, the urologist may insert a small tube, called a stent, into your ureter to open it.
3. Three Different Types of Surgery
Surgery is your final option when a stone will not pass through other methods and causes constant pain. You would also undergo surgery if a stone sticks in an inaccessible place and blocks your urine flow. This blockage can damage your urinary tract or kidneys, or grow even larger. Uteroscopy is the least-invasive form of surgery used to treat kidney stones; your doctor inserts an ureteroscope, a small, flexible, telescope-like instrument, through your bladder and into your ureter to locate and remove the stone. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) also is minimally invasive. The doctor makes a small incision in your back through which he can locate and remove the stone with a small instrument called a nephroscope. If your kidney stones are composed of calcium deposits due to hyperparathyroidism (overactive parathyroid glands), it may be necessary for a surgeon to perform a parathyroid removal.
