What Is the Most Modern & Painless Procedure to Remove Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones are deposits of minerals such as calcium that build up in the kidneys and upper urinary tract. Often these stones are tiny and few enough in number to pass out of the body on their own. If there are a lot of stones, however, or if the stones are very large, medical procedures may need to break up the stone or stones and remove them from the body.

External Procedures

• Minimize how much the doctor needs to go into your body. This can be achieved by using electrocorpeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). In this procedure, your lower body is submerged in a tub of water, or a water cushion is placed between you and the ESWL machine. When the machine is turned on, shock waves are transmitted through the water in such a way that the stone is crushed into tiny pieces. The procedure is very quick (only an hour) and is considered an outpatient procedure. It works best for kidney stones located in the kidney and not another area of the urinary tract. You may be given a sedative for the procedure. Use of the procedure during pregnancy, other kidney disease, or urinary tract infection is not recommended. This is not a good procedure for those with a pacemaker, as the shock waves can affect the pacemaker function.

Invasive Procedures

• If your kidney stone is located closer to or in the ureter, opt for a uteroscopic stone removal. For this procedure, the doctor inserts a fiber optic tool known as a uretoscope into the ureter and breaks up the stone with shock waves. A stent is inserted into the ureter to help keep the ureter open so the stone fragments can pass out of the body.

  If ESWL or uteroscopic removal doesn't work, the next option is surgery. For kidney surgery, the doctor makes a small incision in the back and into the kidney or ureter to remove the stone. This is sometimes the best option, but it's probably the most painful of the three because the doctor must cut into tissue. It has the longest recovery time, up to six weeks.

Other Methods

• If your stone is not serious enough to warrant ESWL, uteroscopic removal, or surgery, then the easiest and most painless stone removal method is to exercise. Movement, even simple walking, helps shift the stone, and in some cases, this is enough to get the stone to pass. Dietary changes also can help to dissolve the stone; some people claim that home remedies like olive oil and lemon juice or herbs like berberis vulgaris help to do this and relieve pain associated with the stones, but such home remedies have not been studied adequately to provide statistical proof of their effectiveness. Increasing water intake may help stones to pass or prevent them from forming because more fluid is filtered through the kidneys, ureters, and bladder; stones tend to form when there isn't enough water to flush away deposits.