Kidney & Bladder Stones

Kidney and bladder stones occur when minerals build up faster than they can be removed by the body and form into small, hard nuggets, a.k.a. “stones.” These stones can block urine drainage and result in acute pain and / or blood in the urine. AUI urologists are very experienced in removing stones with minimally invasive procedures from both adults and children.

Stones were once considered an affliction of middle age, but they are being found with increasing frequency in children across the country. The two leading causes are dehydration and a high-salt diet. In the bladder, stones can also be caused by urine left over if the bladder is not emptying completely, which is a medically treatable urological condition. Several different minerals can cause stones, including calcium, oxalate, uric acid and phosphate.

Most stones are tiny and the body passes them in the urine. But some are large enough to require removal by a doctor. AUI pediatric urologists routinely remove kidney and bladder stones with techniques that require only tiny incisions or no incisions at all, such as laparoscopy and sound waves projected from outside the body to break the stone into pieces small enough to pass in the urine.

If a stone is large enough to require more extensive surgery, AUI urologists utilize the da Vinci Robotic System to precisely remove the stone with small incisions and a very high rate of success and safety.

You may be able to prevent pediatric stones by limiting your child’s salt intake and ensuring that he or she drinks plenty of water. However, if your child does develop kidney or bladder stones, AUI pediatric urologists have the experience and the technology to safely remove them with treatments that require minimal or no incision.