Kidney Stones

Kidney Stone Treatment at Garnet Health

If you’ve ever experienced the pain of having kidney stones, you know there is nothing that quite compares to that panging feeling in your stomach. While some patients’ kidney stones can pass without much discomfort, most will need to seek medical professionals to provide relief quickly. 

The compassionate team at Garnet Health provides a full range of primary and specialty healthcare services -- including urology services and care for kidney stones -- conveniently close to home for residents of Orange and Sullivan Counties. US News & World Report honored Garnet Health Medical Center as a High-Performing Hospital in Urology during 2019 and 2020.

What Are Kidney Stones? 

Kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and acid salts that can form inside your kidneys, two bean-shaped organs that play an essential role in keeping you healthy by continually filtering your blood. They remove excess water, salt and waste products, transforming those unneeded substances into urine. The filtered blood travels back to your heart.

While anyone can develop kidney stones, you may be at heightened risk if you don’t drink enough water, your diet is high in protein or salt, you have a family history of kidney stones or you are overweight or obese.    

Kidney Stone Symptoms, Causes & Treatment 

Symptoms

Usually, a kidney stone will not cause discomfort unless it breaks free and moves around the kidney or passes into the ureter, the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder. If a kidney stone becomes lodged in a ureter, it can potentially block the flow of urine, causing the kidney to swell and the ureter to spasm. The hallmark symptom of kidney stones is excruciating, “wraparound” pain that comes in waves and radiates from the flank or lower back to the front of the abdomen. Other symptoms include bloody urine, pain during urination and nausea and vomiting. If you experience any of these symptoms, see a doctor at Garnet Health right away.

Causes

Kidney stones are common. If your urine contains high volumes of crystal-forming substances, such as calcium, uric acid, phosphorus and oxalates, and not enough water and other fluids to sufficiently dilute them, your urine will become highly concentrated. This can create an ideal environment for kidney stones to form.

Treatment

If you have a small kidney stone, it may pass out of your body on its own, although the process can be quite painful. Drinking plenty of water can help flush the stone out of your urinary tract. 

If your kidney stone does not pass on its own, you have convenient access to the latest treatment options at Garnet Health. Your treatment may include: 

• Non-invasive extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), in which a doctor uses sound waves to crush a stone so it can more easily pass
• Ureteroscopy (URS), in which a doctor passes a fiber optic camera into the ureter and uses tiny instruments to remove or break up a stone without incisions. 
• Additionally, your doctor at Garnet Health may prescribe alpha-blockers to relax the muscles around your ureter, which can help the stone pass. 
• If necessary, you have your kidney stone surgically removed by a skilled surgeon at Garnet Health. 

Receive the Care You Need Close to Home

Garnet Health offers comprehensive urology services in an environment especially conducive to healing. With a full range of advanced diagnostic tests and treatment options, our compassionate professionals can provide the specialty care you need for kidney stones -- and you won’t have to leave the Hudson Valley.

Garnet Health provides comprehensive urology services and care for kidney stones in Orange and Sullivan counties, including Middletown, Harris and Callicoon, NY.