Read up on Kidney stones treatment options at Consumer Reports Health.

Kidney stones

Key points about treatments

Most people with kidney stones don't need treatment. The stones pass out of the body on their own.

Kidney stones are often small enough to pass out of your body when you urinate. However, this can be painful. Your doctor can prescribe painkillers to help you feel more comfortable. He or she may also suggest you drink lots of fluids to help wash the stones out of your system. To read more, see Treatments to help with pain from kidney stones.

Some stones do need treatment. There are several options to choose from. What treatment you have will depend, in part, on how large your stone is and whether it is in your

kidney
Your kidneys are organs that filter your blood to make urine. You have two of them, on either side of your abdominal cavity, toward your back.

kidney, upper ureter or lower

ureters
The ureters are tubes that carry urine from your kidneys to your bladder.

ureter. You have a good chance of getting rid of your kidney stone if you have one of the following treatments.

If you have a smaller stone in your ureter, taking a drug called an alpha-blocker may help it pass out of your body more quickly.
Breaking up stones with shock waves (shock wave therapy) is likely to work on smaller stones in the kidneys and lower down in the ureters. You're less likely to get side effects with this treatment than with one where a surgeon uses a wire to remove a stone (called ureteroscopy).
If you have a stone stuck in a ureter, a surgeon can thread a wire up from your bladder to get it out. This small operation is called an ureteroscopy. It causes more side effects than shock wave therapy.
A small operation called percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) can help get rid of a stone in your kidney that is too big or difficult to reach with shock waves. The surgeon makes a cut in your back and uses a tube to remove the stone.

This information was last updated on May 08, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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