Urology Specialists of Ohio
Thank you for choosing the Urology Specialists of Ohio. Your care and well-being are our primary concerns, and we want your stay
to be as comfortable as possible. Please call us if you have any questions at (937) 342-9260
KIDNEY STONES
Urinary tract stones affect approximately 1 in 11 people in the United States. They can be silent and without symptoms, or manifest with severe pain, nausea, etc. Kidney stones are among the top 10 causes of Emergency Department visits, and in fact are the most expensive one by far, compared to others. They are slightly more common in men, and can affect both sexes.
Incidence of kidney stones is rising and recent studies have shown that 10.6% of men and 7.1% of women are affected by kidney stones each year. This shows a significant increase compared to prior studies. Kidney stones can be made of calcium with other substances (about 70% of all stones), uric acid, or other chemicals.
In a nutshell:
Kidney stones are a common cause of Emergency Department visits or can be incidentally discovered on imaging.
If symptomatic, urinary stones can cause flank pain, bloody urine, nausea, vomiting, etc.
Spontaneous passage: mainly influenced by size and location of the stone. More than half of stones smaller than 5 mm (one fifth of an inch) may pass. Certain medications can be used to increase the passage rate.
Treatment: Kidney stone treatment has to be carefully chosen based on stone and patient factors. Most common procedures include shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL), ureteroscopy (URS) with laser lithotripsy, and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).
Prevention for most common type of stone (Calcium Oxalate): increased hydration (water), low salt diet, low animal protein intake, increase citrate intake (lime and lemmon juice), and low oxalate intake (spinach, kale, nuts, chocolate, strawberries, etc). Do NOT limit your calcium intake (take the recommended daily amounts for your age and gender).
KIDNEY STONE SYMPTOMS:
Patients will experience no symptoms if they have stones in the kidney that are not obstructing the passage of urine. These stones can be discovered incidentally on imaging studies obtained for other purposes. They are silent and some never manifest with other symptoms, they may grow in size or remain stable, and some may relocate to a spot where they block the urine flow (i.e. in the ureter) and then cause different symptoms.
The symptoms usually include:
-Severe intermittent pain in the flank region (depending on location of stone the pain may
be lower, or radiate to the genitalia or groin)
– Presence of blood in the urine
– Nausea and/or vomiting
– Passage of sand-like particles in the urine
If the obstructing stone picture is complicated by a concurrent urinary tract infection, then the patient usually feels very sick with fever, shaking chills, lightheadedness, and sometimes low blood pressure and shock. This situation is considered a medical emergency and needs to be treated right away by a Los Angeles urologist.
Some stones can silently obstruct the urine flow from the kidney and in some cases lead to loss of function of that kidney over a long period of time. Read more about kidney stones at WebMD.com.
URINARY STONE TREATMENT OPTIONS:
In general the following kidney stone treatment options are available:
Dissolution Therapy: involves medications that will help change the urine acidity and dissolve the stone. This is only used for a certain type of stone (uric acid) and with variable success.
Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL or “shockwave”): This is a non-invasive treatment which uses shock waves that are generated outside the body and focused on the stone to pulverize and break the stone, which then is passed by the patient as sand or small fragments in the urine. It works well for carefully selected stones / patients. Factors that influence this treatment include stone size, stone density (hardness), suitable body size (no too large), and the location of the stone in the urinary tract.
Is it Possible to Prevent Stones?
Drinking water regularly and having sufficient urine output every day
– Low animal protein intake (usually about 6-8 oz per day)
– High citric acid (citrate) intake: can be preventive for new stones and slow the growth of existing ones
– We do NOT recommend limiting calcium intake beyond the recommended daily allowance for each patient
– Low oxalate intake (oxalate can be found in spinach, kale, nuts, strawberries, chocolate, etc).
Thank you for choosing our group of doctors and staff for your Urology needs. In order for us to better serve you, below is a checklist of things to know and bring to your first appointment. If you do not have the paperwork filled out prior to your appointment, please arrive 15 minutes early to complete in the office. If you do not have the paperwork filled out prior to your appointment time then your appointment will be rescheduled to another date.
Urology Specialists of Ohio has been a committed part of the Springfield community for more that 10 years, and now serves Springfield, Beavercreek, London, Xenia, and Urbana striving to improve the medical community, with excellence in all areas of urology.
Our goals are to provide state of the art medical treatment for patients with genitourinary problems. We provide this in the most compassionate and cost effective way possible. We take pride in providing excellent care with attention to detail and respect in a friendly atmosphere.
Come and visit
We look forward to your visit. be assured that your great health is our focused passion. click below to see our 5 locations.
LOCATIONS
Contact
Phone
(937) 342-9260
info@usooh.com
Address
Business Location:
1164 E. Home Road
Springfield, Ohio 45503