What Makes Kidney Stones Come Out?

Kidney stones can be both annoying and painful. Some people are more inclined to develop kidney stones than others, and prevention is always the best treatment. However, when kidney stones develop, there are several options for removing them.

Water

• The safest and most common way to pass a kidney stone is to drink a lot of water. The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC) suggests drinking two to three quarts a day.

Surgery

• A stone may be surgically removed if it is too big to pass through the urinary system, causes constant pain, infects the urinary tract, damages the kidney or gets bigger.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy

• Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) uses shock waves aimed at the kidney stones to break them into smaller pieces so they can be passed through the urinary tract. Waves usually are made with an X-ray or ultrasound.

Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy

• Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is a procedure in which the surgeon creates a hole in the back to access the kidney and physically remove a stone that is too big or in a bad location for ESWL.

Ureteroscopic Stone Removal

• Ureteroscopic stone removal involves the surgeon inserting a ureteroscope into the urethra, bladder and ureter to remove the stone or shatter it with a shock wave.