Kidney stones are one of the more common disorders of the urinary tract. Each year in the United States, according to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 300,000 people go to emergency rooms for kidney stone problems.
A stone may stay in the kidney or break loose and travel down the urinary tract. A small stone may pass all the way out of the body without causing too much pain, However, a larger stone may get stuck in a ureter, the bladder, or the urethra. A problem stone can block the flow of urine and cause great pain.
Listen in as Dr. Ben Larson discusses the latest developments in the treatment of kidney stones.
Selected Podcast
Do You Have Kidney Stones?
Featured Speaker:
Ben Larson, MD
Dr. Ben Larson is a urologist and a member of the Medical Staff at Temecula Valley Hospital. Transcription:
Do You Have Kidney Stones?
Melanie Cole (Host): Kidney stones are one of the more common disorders of the urinary tract. Each year in the United States, according to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 300,000 people go to emergency rooms for kidney stone problems. My guest today is Dr. Ben Larson. He’s a urologist and a member of the medical staff at Temecula Valley Hospital. Welcome to the show. Dr. Larson, people have been hearing about kidney stones for years. What are they?
Dr. Ben Larson (Guest): Kidney stones are crystals formed from the urine. They are composed of a number of different things and mostly happen when the concentration of urine is so dense that these crystals come out of their solution and form. They start very small and then they grow to be larger. They sit in the kidney and they don’t cause any problems there unless they start to pass through the urinary system. They can cause blockage and associated with that is pain and other symptoms.
Melanie: So, who’s the most common person to get kidney stones? Who’s at risk?
Dr. Larson: Unfortunately, everyone is at risk, especially in warm weather, when people don’t drink enough water and dehydration can lead to these stones forming and especially it can affect anyone who doesn’t drink enough water. I treat anyone from young kids to elderly patients.
Melanie: So, tell us a little bit about the different types. Are there different types of kidney stones?
Dr. Larson: There are a few types of kidney stones. The most common is composed of calcium and a component called “oxalate” which is found in many foods that we all love to eat. Otherwise, there are other stones some people have a genetic disposition to make. These are more rare. Other stones are made because of a urinary tract infection and the bacteria cause certain elements in the urine to form stones. Other stones are formed based on certain dietary issues or foods that people may overeat.
Melanie: So, Dr. Larson, what are some of the symptoms? Is it just intense pain? What would someone feel that would signal that they need to get to a doctor to see someone about a kidney stone?
Dr. Larson: The symptoms of a kidney stone can vary depending on the location of the stone. The kidneys are located in our back, high up behind the bottom ribs that you may feel in your back. Usually, pain starts in this area as a dull aching pain and then radiates around the front down towards the groin. Anywhere along that path, the pain can be felt. The pain can cause nausea and people will throw up. As the stone passes lower and lower and gets even closer to the bladder, it may cause pain or symptoms like a urinary tract infection which means they have to go to the bathroom all the time. It may burn or hurt when they urinate and men often will also feel the pain down into their groin or in their genitals also.
Melanie: Are there any risks or complications to not treating the stone and just letting it go?
Dr. Larson: There are. Very small stones may pass on their own and patients may be able to deal with that without coming to an emergency room. But, if stones get stuck in the urinary tract, they can cause pressure to build on that kidney, such as if you pinch the hose in a cartoon and the back pressure builds up. That pressure can cause permanent damage to the kidney and loss of function of that kidney. What also can happen is bacteria can build up behind the kidney and not get flushed out as it normally does and a severe infection and even more complicated infections to the whole body can develop if kidney stones aren’t treated.
Melanie: So then, how do you treat a kidney stone, doctor?
Dr. Larson: Well, there are a number of options to treat kidney stones and they’re all based on the size and location of the stone. If the stone is relatively small, we may just give supportive medication that usually will help the stones pass on their own. That’s called “medical expulsive therapy”. That’s usually limited to stones about five millimeters or smaller. After that, there is the shockwave machine that is done in usually surgery or at least with some sedation where a machine is put up against your side or your belly, and the stone is located with x-ray, and shockwaves and sent in through the body to cause the stone to break into smaller pieces that are then able to be passed. Another option is to pass the small scoper camera in through the urinary tract, up to the stone, and then, using a very small laser fiber to fragment the stone into smaller pieces, and then to remove those fragments with a small basket, and thus removing them from the body. Larger stones that are in the kidney and are significant in size, some of them require us to do a surgery where we place a small tube in through the back, into the kidney, and through that can pass a larger instrument to break up and remove larger stones. That procedure usually requires a night or two in the hospital, where other treatments are most likely to go home the same day.
Melanie: If you’ve have one stone before, does that make you more susceptible to more in the future?
Dr. Larson: It does typically because something has gone wrong in your metabolism or in your habits of drinking water or in your diet that has promoted that stone to form. It’s not an absolute necessity but you are more at risk and should be evaluated or at least know the risks and how to avoid them.
Melanie: So, what do you like to tell people as a way to prevent kidney stones?
Dr. Larson: I usually tell my patients, “Water, water, water, water.” And then, I repeat that several more times. About 80% of what you need to do to help prevent a kidney stone is drinking enough water to keep your urine diluted and avoid the stones forming. Other things that can be done are watching your diet. You would think that you would want to avoid calcium because that is what most stones are made out of but that’s actually not true. You should have a normal calcium intake. Elderly patients should continue calcium supplements if they’re taking them. The real things to avoid may be salt. If stones are formed with oxalate, we give patients a list of dietary foods that have oxalate in them to avoid, or at least to be aware of. Other things that have been shown in studies that promote stones is animal proteins or meats and are also something to avoid, at least, or to have in moderation.
Melanie: What great information. And, Dr. Larson, why should patients come to Temecula Valley Hospital for their care?
Dr. Larson: At Temecula Valley Hospital, they have an attentive emergency room that can quickly evaluate patients’ pain and find out if stones are present. That’s typically done with a CT scan. And then, access to experts is readily available, like myself, to diagnose and determine the best treatment modalities, all of which are available at Temecula Valley Hospital and can be done in a timely fashion to get patients treated from their stones and on the path for preventing them in the future.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Dr. Larson, for being with us today. You’re listening to TVH Doc Talk. For more information, you can go to TemeculaValleyHospital.com. That's TemeculaValleyHospital.com. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Temecula Valley Hospital. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Do You Have Kidney Stones?
Melanie Cole (Host): Kidney stones are one of the more common disorders of the urinary tract. Each year in the United States, according to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 300,000 people go to emergency rooms for kidney stone problems. My guest today is Dr. Ben Larson. He’s a urologist and a member of the medical staff at Temecula Valley Hospital. Welcome to the show. Dr. Larson, people have been hearing about kidney stones for years. What are they?
Dr. Ben Larson (Guest): Kidney stones are crystals formed from the urine. They are composed of a number of different things and mostly happen when the concentration of urine is so dense that these crystals come out of their solution and form. They start very small and then they grow to be larger. They sit in the kidney and they don’t cause any problems there unless they start to pass through the urinary system. They can cause blockage and associated with that is pain and other symptoms.
Melanie: So, who’s the most common person to get kidney stones? Who’s at risk?
Dr. Larson: Unfortunately, everyone is at risk, especially in warm weather, when people don’t drink enough water and dehydration can lead to these stones forming and especially it can affect anyone who doesn’t drink enough water. I treat anyone from young kids to elderly patients.
Melanie: So, tell us a little bit about the different types. Are there different types of kidney stones?
Dr. Larson: There are a few types of kidney stones. The most common is composed of calcium and a component called “oxalate” which is found in many foods that we all love to eat. Otherwise, there are other stones some people have a genetic disposition to make. These are more rare. Other stones are made because of a urinary tract infection and the bacteria cause certain elements in the urine to form stones. Other stones are formed based on certain dietary issues or foods that people may overeat.
Melanie: So, Dr. Larson, what are some of the symptoms? Is it just intense pain? What would someone feel that would signal that they need to get to a doctor to see someone about a kidney stone?
Dr. Larson: The symptoms of a kidney stone can vary depending on the location of the stone. The kidneys are located in our back, high up behind the bottom ribs that you may feel in your back. Usually, pain starts in this area as a dull aching pain and then radiates around the front down towards the groin. Anywhere along that path, the pain can be felt. The pain can cause nausea and people will throw up. As the stone passes lower and lower and gets even closer to the bladder, it may cause pain or symptoms like a urinary tract infection which means they have to go to the bathroom all the time. It may burn or hurt when they urinate and men often will also feel the pain down into their groin or in their genitals also.
Melanie: Are there any risks or complications to not treating the stone and just letting it go?
Dr. Larson: There are. Very small stones may pass on their own and patients may be able to deal with that without coming to an emergency room. But, if stones get stuck in the urinary tract, they can cause pressure to build on that kidney, such as if you pinch the hose in a cartoon and the back pressure builds up. That pressure can cause permanent damage to the kidney and loss of function of that kidney. What also can happen is bacteria can build up behind the kidney and not get flushed out as it normally does and a severe infection and even more complicated infections to the whole body can develop if kidney stones aren’t treated.
Melanie: So then, how do you treat a kidney stone, doctor?
Dr. Larson: Well, there are a number of options to treat kidney stones and they’re all based on the size and location of the stone. If the stone is relatively small, we may just give supportive medication that usually will help the stones pass on their own. That’s called “medical expulsive therapy”. That’s usually limited to stones about five millimeters or smaller. After that, there is the shockwave machine that is done in usually surgery or at least with some sedation where a machine is put up against your side or your belly, and the stone is located with x-ray, and shockwaves and sent in through the body to cause the stone to break into smaller pieces that are then able to be passed. Another option is to pass the small scoper camera in through the urinary tract, up to the stone, and then, using a very small laser fiber to fragment the stone into smaller pieces, and then to remove those fragments with a small basket, and thus removing them from the body. Larger stones that are in the kidney and are significant in size, some of them require us to do a surgery where we place a small tube in through the back, into the kidney, and through that can pass a larger instrument to break up and remove larger stones. That procedure usually requires a night or two in the hospital, where other treatments are most likely to go home the same day.
Melanie: If you’ve have one stone before, does that make you more susceptible to more in the future?
Dr. Larson: It does typically because something has gone wrong in your metabolism or in your habits of drinking water or in your diet that has promoted that stone to form. It’s not an absolute necessity but you are more at risk and should be evaluated or at least know the risks and how to avoid them.
Melanie: So, what do you like to tell people as a way to prevent kidney stones?
Dr. Larson: I usually tell my patients, “Water, water, water, water.” And then, I repeat that several more times. About 80% of what you need to do to help prevent a kidney stone is drinking enough water to keep your urine diluted and avoid the stones forming. Other things that can be done are watching your diet. You would think that you would want to avoid calcium because that is what most stones are made out of but that’s actually not true. You should have a normal calcium intake. Elderly patients should continue calcium supplements if they’re taking them. The real things to avoid may be salt. If stones are formed with oxalate, we give patients a list of dietary foods that have oxalate in them to avoid, or at least to be aware of. Other things that have been shown in studies that promote stones is animal proteins or meats and are also something to avoid, at least, or to have in moderation.
Melanie: What great information. And, Dr. Larson, why should patients come to Temecula Valley Hospital for their care?
Dr. Larson: At Temecula Valley Hospital, they have an attentive emergency room that can quickly evaluate patients’ pain and find out if stones are present. That’s typically done with a CT scan. And then, access to experts is readily available, like myself, to diagnose and determine the best treatment modalities, all of which are available at Temecula Valley Hospital and can be done in a timely fashion to get patients treated from their stones and on the path for preventing them in the future.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Dr. Larson, for being with us today. You’re listening to TVH Doc Talk. For more information, you can go to TemeculaValleyHospital.com. That's TemeculaValleyHospital.com. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Temecula Valley Hospital. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.