Kidney Stones

These are stone like calcifications that develop in either one or both the kidneys. This is a common condition and the stones are divided into four types.

Calcium stones – due to the deposition of calcium and phosphate, or calcium and oxalate.

Struvite – due to the deposition of magnesium and ammonia, shape resembles a horn and is of large size.

Uric acid stones – appears in brown colour and is smooth.

Cystine stones – looks like crystals and are yellow in colour.

The size, shape and colour of the stones often vary. The size ranges from that of a sand grain to that of a golf ball. A kidney stone is the result of deposition of salts that are normally dissolved in urine. At beginning they will be tiny crystals, but later on gets collected to form a lump. These crystals may settle or even may travel through the urinary system. When these stones cause an obstruction the condition becomes too painful. This may further lead to an infection or even renal failure.

Symptoms

Stones that are minute may not produce notable symptoms and may get eliminated through urine. ‘Silent kidney stone’ is the term that describes this condition. In case of large stones and them obstructing the urinary system, pain is the most evident symptom. Common symptoms include severe pain in the retro aspect of abdomen, or even in the groin region, nausea, presence of blood in urine, cloudy or urine with foul smell, burning sense while passing urine and high fever.

The person also may experience an urge to void frequently, even though it is not needed. An obstruction leads to stagnation of urine which increases the likelihood to develop infection. Manifestations of infected kidneys include persistent pain over lower abdomen, high fever, shivering, nausea and vomiting, loose stools, cloudy and foul smelling urine, increased urinary urge, and painful voiding.

Causes

The exact cause is not yet known. A cancer or diseases involving the renal system increases the risk for renal stones. The conditions like dehydration, habit of not drinking adequate water, consumption of diet high in protein and low in fibre, reduced physical activity, family history of renal stones, history of renal disorders or stones, only single kidney functions, diseases affecting small intestine, for example Crohn’s disease increases risks.

Calcium stones are caused by its high amount in the body whereas struvite stones result due to an infection. Cystine stones are the result of a genetic condition and increased level of uric acid lead to uric acid stones.

Treatment

Most of the small stones won’t cause much problem other than pain and can be treated using painkillers. Renal stones of large size need to be treated with the following measures:

• Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL),
• Ureteroscopy,
• Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL),
• Surgery.

ESWL involves passing X-rays or ultrasound through the stones to disintegrate them into smaller pieces. The PCNL method involves inserting a nephroscope vie an incision made at the back and removing or breaking the stones.