Kidney stone surgery ensures that the kidneys remove waste materials from the body so that life can continue. On the other hand, it has the task of filtering the substances necessary for the body and adjusting their levels. This occurs when kidney stones are formed due to problems in the mechanism related to this task in the kidneys.

It is still not clearly known why these mechanisms are disrupted. Doctors believe that kidney stone disease occurs due to factors such as nutrition, genetics, geography and gender. Therefore, it is known that people who research how to pass kidney stones have this disease in their genetics.

These stones, which sometimes do not show any symptoms for a long time, sometimes fall into the urinary tract and cause patients to apply to health institutions with unbearable pain. Kidney stone surgery is not applied to every patient with kidney stones. The size of the stone and the person’s probability of passing it are taken into consideration.

How to Identify Kidney Stones?

Kidney stone symptoms: minerals in the blood are excreted from the kidneys and are found in a balanced state of a certain solubility in the urine. However, for various reasons, the solubility of the crystals decreases. And due to the accumulation of crystals, the crystals precipitate in the chamber-like collecting systems in the kidney. And kidney stones are formed.

Calcium oxalate stones constitute approximately 80 percent of the stones. Apart from these, stones related to infections, uric acid stones, cystine stones, calcium phosphate stones are also seen.

Kidney stone surgery cannot be performed on every patient with kidney stones. In kidney stone formation, factors related to nutrition are especially important. The most important of these is not consuming enough fluids. High animal protein intake and sodium consumption should not be high in nutritional habits. In addition, excessive consumption of refined sugars and excessive consumption of coffee or cocoa-like foods are also among the causes. Urinary tract infections, structural disorders in the kidney, some medications, and genetic factors are effective in stone formation.

Kidney Stone Symptoms

The most common complaint in patients wondering who can undergo kidney stone surgery is pain. Very small stones can pass through the urinary tract without being noticed. However, as the stone size grows, it can get stuck in the tube (ureter) that connects the kidney and bladder.

While the pain is so mild that it is not noticeable in some patients, it is extremely severe in others. Pain caused by kidney stones usually appears as pain that appears and disappears intermittently. Patients usually describe the pain as “flank pain”. Apart from this pain, kidney stone symptoms in women and men are as follows:

These include pain while urinating, blood in the urine, nausea or vomiting, frequent urination, urinating small amounts or difficulty urinating, fever and chills.

In some patients, kidney stones are detected incidentally during tests performed for other purposes, without any complaints.

Even if kidney stones are detected, surgery is not the only solution. People can get rid of this disease with the solution suggestions offered by the doctor.

Diagnostic Methods of the Disease

What causes kidney stones? The patient’s history and physical examination are the first steps in kidney stone disease. Urinary system radiography and ultrasonography are performed to support the findings detected here and to clarify the diagnosis. When these two examinations are used together, a large portion of kidney stones are detected.

Urine analysis is performed to detect urinary tract infections or bleeding in urine, which are occasionally seen due to stones. In addition, blood tests are used to determine the nature of stones or to investigate their causes. Non-contrast Computed Tomography (CT) can be performed to detect very small stones or to see the kidney anatomy in patients who are scheduled for surgery. Another method used to break kidney stones and evaluate the urinary tract is intravenous pyelography (IVP). A drug that will be detected under x-ray is given through the patient’s vein. And after the blood is filtered from the kidneys, x-rays are taken while the drug passes through the urinary tract. In this way, kidney stones in the body, blocked areas in the urinary tract and blood flow in the kidneys are observed.

Treatment Methods

For kidney stone surgery, doctors will perform a comprehensive examination. The size of the stone in the patient, how it will be removed, and whether surgery is necessary are all very important.

After the tests are performed and the kidney stone is passed, the most important factors in treatment planning are the size of the stone and its location in the kidney. As the kidney stone size increases, the patient’s chance of passing the stone on its own decreases. In addition, stones located in the upper part of the kidney collecting system are more likely to pass than those located in the lower part.

The type of treatment is determined by the severity of the patient’s pain due to the stone, whether the stone causes any damage to the kidney, and whether it impairs kidney function.

In frequently recurring kidney stones, determining the underlying cause of these stones is important in treatment. In particular, detailed laboratory tests should be performed, and blood levels of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, uric acid, and vitamin D should be checked.

The patient’s urine pH, cystine, uric acid, and oxalate levels in the urine should be examined. If an underlying metabolic or hormonal cause is detected, treating these is important in the treatment and prevention of kidney stones.

Doctors examine in detail any structural abnormalities that may exist in the kidney or urinary tract using radiological examinations. If necessary, kidney stones can be corrected through surgery.

In the case of persistent kidney stones, drug treatment can be chosen according to the type of stone. Although the patient’s treatment method and the drugs they will use may vary, the main purpose of the treatment is to increase the solubility of the crystals in the urine. And to prevent them from precipitating and forming stones in the kidney.

What can be done to prevent kidney stones?

What causes kidney stones or what to do to avoid this problem is one of the most frequently asked questions. Increasing fluid intake, especially water, is one of the things that should be done to prevent kidney stones. Under normal conditions, urine should be light yellow. Instead of tea, coffee, fruit juices and acidic drinks, water consumption should be increased. Because some of these drinks will cause fluid loss or invite other problems due to the sugar they contain. It should not be forgotten that people who do sports, do outdoor activities and do intense physical work should drink more water.

Consuming plenty of vegetables and fruits is also very important. Vegetables and fruits reduce the amount of acid in the urine. Therefore, vegetables should be consumed together with animal foods that have a risk of increasing uric acid levels.

It is highly possible for people who do not pay attention to these issues to have their kidney stones removed through surgery.

How Will Kidney Stones Be Treated?

Kidney stone surgery is not applied to 90% of stones smaller than 4 mm. These stones pass on their own. It is said that half of the stones between 4-7 mm and stones larger than 8 mm rarely pass on their own.

If the kidney stone has started to move in the urinary tract, sometimes there is no need to break the kidney stone. If the stone is very small, patients are advised to drink plenty of water and move. However, for stones larger than 5 mm, intervention and a doctor’s consultation is necessary.

The urologist decides on the necessary kidney stone surgery operation based on the location and size of the stone, the patient’s health and age. It is said that similar treatment methods are used in children and adults.