Kidney Stones
NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester's Urology team includes physicians with fellowship training in the assessment, treatment, and prevention of kidney stones, including complex renal and ureteral stones. We choose the most effective treatment for your care, offering:
- Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Guided by x-rays or ultrasound, the urologist can pinpoint a stone from outside your body, targeting shock waves on the stone that break it up into smaller fragments so they can be passed from your body. This procedure is not invasive and can be done on an outpatient basis.
- Ureteroscopy. With this minimally invasive endoscopic approach, the urologist can visualize your upper urinary tract and treat stones in the kidneys and ureters, fragmenting your stone with devices such as the Holmium laser. You can usually have this procedure performed as an outpatient.
- Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL).Our urologists use PNL to treat large kidney stones primarily. The surgeon enters the kidney through a small incision in the patient’s back, over the area where the kidney is located, to break up and remove large stones with special fragmentation and grasping tools.
We evaluate and monitor patients with kidney stones at NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester and perform these procedures at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.
Preventing Recurrent Kidney Stones
If you have had more than one kidney stone in your lifetime, you are at higher risk of recurrent stone disease. Therefore, prevention is essential. We'll connect you with a nephrologist to evaluate your metabolic risk factors for stone formation and make suggestions about dietary changes, lifestyle modifications, and possibly medication that can reduce your risk of stone development. We also work with a registered dietitian with special expertise in stone disease to reinforce dietary changes and help you implement a daily plan.