If you have a kidney stone should you treat it? If yes, what are the reasonable treatment options? What are the risks of treatment? What are the risks of not treating? At Twin River Urology we will take as much time as you need to explore these issues.

When a person does have a stone causing obstruction of a kidney and pain, we think of our work in three phases:

1. Phase One is the work to get the patient medically safe, and out of severe pain. This sometimes means arranging to place a temporary internal drainage tube (stent) between the kidney and the bladder.
2. Phase Two is the treatment of the stone itself. This can sometimes include medical support while a patient passes the stone or, in some rare cases, help dissolving the stone. In other patients’ treatment can mean a procedure that might include laser fragmentation of the stone or external shockwaves to break it up.
3. Phase Three of treatment is trying to understand why a stone formed and coming up with an evidence-based plan often focusing on dietary and lifestyle changes to help prevent a stone from ever forming again. We are fortunate to have a close working relationship with a PhD nutrition expert (Jen Meijers, Happy Trails Nutrition) to develop and individualized stone prevention strategies.Phase Three of treatment is trying to understand why a stone formed and coming up with an evidence-based plan often focusing on dietary and lifestyle changes to help prevent a stone from ever forming again. We are fortunate to have a close working relationship with a PhD nutrition expert (Jen Meijers, Happy Trails Nutrition) to develop and individualized stone prevention strategies.