Kidney Stone Treatment in Dubai
Kidney stones, if not treated, lead to severe pain, discomfort, and urinary related issues. Kidney stone treatment in Dubai is one of Yugen Care’s specialties, and our team will provide personalized treatment plans for you. Our skilled urology specialists employ modern diagnostic tools and treatment options such as ESWL, ureteroscopy, and minimally invasive procedures to treat stones and avoid a recurrence. The key parameters we emphasize are speed of treatment, effectiveness of the cure, and comfort in an enclosed environment. At Yugen Care, our goal is to get you back to great health and free from any kind of pain.
Kidney stones are clusters of crystals that form from minerals and other substances in your urinary tract. Most stones pass out of your body, but they can be very painful as they move through. You might need a procedure to break up or remove the stone if it can’t pass on its own or is causing a blockage.
What are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are solid masses or crystals that form from substances (like minerals, acids, and salts) in your kidneys. They can be as small as a grain of sand or — rarely — larger than a golf ball. Kidney stones are also called renal calculi or nephrolithiasis.
Depending on the size of your kidney stone (or stones), you may not even realize that you have one. Smaller stones can pass through your urinary tract in urine with no symptoms. Large kidney stones can get trapped in your ureter (the tube that drains urine from your kidney down to your bladder). This can cause urine to back up and limit your kidney’s ability to filter waste from your body. It can also cause bleeding.
It can take as long as three weeks for kidney stones to pass on their own. Even some small stones can cause extreme pain as they go through your urinary tract and out of your body. You may need a provider to break up and remove a stone that can’t pass on its own.
How common are kidney stones?
About 1 in 10 people will get a kidney stone during their lifetime. They’re most common in males in their 30s and 40s. They’re also more common among non-Hispanic white people.
Symptoms and Causes
What are the symptoms of kidney stones?
The most common symptom of kidney stones is pain in your lower back, belly, or side (flank pain). It might feel like it extends from your groin to your side. It can be a dull pain or sharp and severe. It’s sometimes called colicky pain because it can get worse in waves.
Other kidney stone symptoms include:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Hematouria (blood in urine).
- Painful urination (dysuria).
- Inability to urinate (urine retention).
- Feeling the urge to urinate a lot (Frequency).
- Fever or chills.
- Cloudy or foul-smelling urine.
Smaller kidney stones may not cause pain or other symptoms.
What causes kidney stones?
Urine contains minerals, acids, and other substances, like calcium, sodium, oxalate and uric acid. When you have too many particles of these substances in urine and too little liquid, they can start to stick together, forming crystals or stones. Kidney stones can form over months or years.
Types of kidney stones
Stones are named for the type of crystals they’re made up of:
Calcium-oxalate and calcium phosphate stones. Calcium-based stones can form when you eat high-oxalate or low-calcium foods and aren’t drinking enough fluids. Calcium-oxalate stones are the most common type of kidney stones.
Uric acid stones. Eating animal proteins (beef, poultry, pork, eggs, and fish) can cause uric acid stones to form.
Struvite stones. Bacterial infections can cause struvite stones. Repeated infections can lead to a staghorn calculus, a very large kidney stone that usually needs to be surgically removed.
Cystine stones. An inherited condition called cystinuria causes cystine stones. Cystine is a substance made of two cysteine amino acids bound together.
What are the risk factors for kidney stones?
You might be at a higher risk of developing kidney stones if you:
- Don’t drink enough fluids.
- Eat meat and other protein-rich foods.
- Eat foods high in sodium or sugars (sucrose and fructose).
- Take vitamin C supplements.
- Have a family history of kidney stones.
- Have a blockage in your urinary tract.
- Have had stomach or intestine surgery, including gastric bypass surgery.
- Take certain medications. This includes some diuretics, calcium-based antacids, some antiseizure medications and certain.
- Have certain medical conditions.
Medical conditions that increase kidney stone risk
Certain health conditions can put you at a higher risk for kidney stones. These include:
- Cystic fibrosis.
- Cystinuria, a genetic disorder that causes a buildup of cystine.
- High blood pressure.
- High calcium levels in your urine (hypercalciuria).
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
- Kidney cysts.
- Parathyroid disease.
- Primary hyperoxaluria.
- Hemiplegia or paraplegia (types of paralysis).
What are the complications of kidney stones?
Kidney stones can put you at risk for:
- A blockage that backs pee up into your kidney, causing it to swell (hydronephrosis).
- Kidney infection (pyelonephritis).
- Acute kidney injury (a type of kidney failure that can be reversible).
- Frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
- Chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Diagnosis and Tests
How are kidney stones diagnosed?
Healthcare providers use imaging, blood, and urine tests to diagnose kidney stones. If your provider suspects you have a kidney stone based on your symptoms and physical exam, you may need one or more of these tests:
- Urine test. A provider can test your pee for blood, stone-forming crystals, and signs of infection.
- X-rays, CT scans (computed tomography scans) and ultrasound can help your healthcare provider see the size, shape, location, and number of stones.
- Blood tests. A provider can use blood tests to check your kidney function, detect infections and look for high levels of calcium or other conditions that could lead to stone formation.
Management and Treatment
Kidney stone treatment options
How are kidney stones treated?
If you have a small stone that’s likely to pass on its own, your provider will have you monitor your symptoms until it passes in your pee. They might prescribe medications that keep you comfortable and help the stone pass on its own.
Larger stones need treatment depending on their size, location, whether they’re causing infections or symptoms, and other factors. If you have a large stone or a blockage, or if a stone isn’t passing on its own in a few weeks, your provider will recommend procedures to break up or remove it.
Medications
If you have a kidney stone that can pass on its own and isn’t causing infection, a provider may prescribe or recommend medications to:
- Relax your ureter to help stones pass. Commonly prescribed medicines include tamsulosin.
- Manage nausea and vomiting.
- Manage pain. Even small stones that can pass on their own can be very painful. Your healthcare provider may prescribe medications or make recommendations for over the counter (OTC) medications to manage the pain.
Kidney stone procedures
If you have a kidney stone that can’t pass on its own or is blocking your urinary tract, your provider will recommend a procedure to break up and/or remove the stone. The type of procedure they recommend depends on many factors, including the size and location of the stone. Kidney stone procedures include:
- Shockwave lithotripsy. A provider uses shockwaves to break apart the stones from the outside of your body. The fragments can move through your urinary tract and out of your body more easily.
- A provider inserts a scope through your urethra and bladder and into your ureter. Instruments the provider passes through the scope can break up and remove the stone. The smaller pieces can move through your urinary tract and out of your body more easily.
- Percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Your provider may recommend percutaneous nephrolithotomy when they can’t treat a kidney stone with other procedures. During percutaneous nephrolithotomy, your provider inserts a tube directly into your kidney through a tiny incision (cut) in your back. An ultrasound probe breaks apart and removes the stones.
- Laparoscopic surgery. During laparoscopic surgery, your provider makes a small incision to remove the stone. In some rare cases, your provider might need to perform open surgery (with a larger incision) instead of laparoscopy.
Can kidney stones go away on their own?
Yes, around 80% of kidney stones can pass on their own. The amount of time it takes for you to pass a kidney stone depends on its size and location. A stone that’s smaller than 4 mm (millimeters) may pass within one to two weeks. A larger stone could take about two to three weeks to completely pass. Once the stone reaches your bladder, it usually passes in a few days.
Prevention
Can kidney stones be prevented?
The things you eat, and drink can impact your risk for kidney stones. Talk to your healthcare provider or dietitian about ways that you can reduce your risk. They might recommend:
- Drinking plenty of water.
- Limiting animal proteins.
- Limiting foods high in sugar and sodium.
- Limiting foods high in oxalates. If you have calcium oxalate stones, your provider might recommend you avoid foods like spinach, rhubarb, wheat bran, tree nuts and peanuts.
- Maintaining a weight that’s healthy for you.
- Eating foods that are good sources of calcium. While it may not seem like it, foods high in calcium can help prevent kidney stones. The same isn’t true for calcium supplements or antacids with calcium, which can increase your risk for stones.