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Patients who have experienced kidney stones often end up in the Emergency Room in excruciating pain. Symptoms can include difficulty urinating, nausea, fever, chills, and sometimes spreading pain in the lower back.
Kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and salts that form in the kidneys and become crystallized, causing pain as they pass (or try to pass) through the ureter, bladder, and out of the body. They are dangerous because they can block the flow of urine and cause infection.
In the best of circumstances, patients may only need to take pain medication and drink lots of water to pass a kidney stone. But depending on its size and location, other treatments may be advised, including a lithotripsy or even surgery.
Lithotripsy uses shock waves to break up stones so they can more easily pass through the urinary tract. If this procedure fails to solve the problem, the patient may undergo a ureteroscopy, in which the doctor uses a thin, flexible scope to find and remove the stone.
Prevention tips
Kidney stones can be caused by diet, excess weight, family medical history, dehydration, and certain health conditions. Your physician can help you determine the cause of your kidney stone diagnosis, but it’s likely that you will be advised to:
– Drink more water and limit your intake of colas and sodas
– Maintain a healthy weight
– Reduce the amount of salt in your diet
– Reduce the amount of red meat (especially fatty meats) in your diet
– Limit your intake of eggs, shellfish and processed foods
Cypress Pointe Surgical Hospital and its board-certified urologists are skilled in treating not just kidney stones, but many other urologic conditions thanks to advanced technology, including improvements in laparoscopy, endoscopic exams and imaging techniques.
Cypress Pointe Surgical Hospital
42570 S Airport Rd, Hammond, LA 70403
985-510-6200
Monday-Friday 5 a.m. – 5 p.m.