If you are experiencing the pain and discomfort of kidney stone disease, you can trust Hackensack University Medical Center’s urology experts to use their experience—combined with the latest technology and treatments—to help eliminate your existing kidney stones and keep them from returning.

Our Kidney Stone Center urologists perform hundreds of kidney stone procedures each year, providing expert treatment of both large and small kidney stones and complex kidney stone disease. Additionally, we take treatment a step further by counseling patients about dietary changes, medications and surgical procedures that can prevent future problems.

A kidney stone is a very common urological condition that affects 10 – 20 percent of Americans. If you’ve already had a kidney stone, you are at an increased risk of developing another within 5-10 years.

Although some kidney stones can be passed through the urinary tract with little discomfort, most stones cause symptoms such as:

• Pain in the side or groin
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Blood in the urine

There are different types of kidney stones, each with its own distinct cause. The five main types of kidney stones include:

• Calcium oxalate stones, which are the most common and are linked with foods high in oxalate, such as beets, nuts, potatoes, spinach, beans and soy.
• Calcium phosphate stones, which develop when your urinary system does not function properly.
• Struvite stones, which are more common in women are caused by certain types of urinary tract infections.
• Uric acid stones, which are more common in men and tend to occur in people who have diets high in animal protein, who don’t drink enough water and who have gout.
• Cystine stones, which are caused by Cystinuria, a hereditary genetic disorder.

By identifying the type of kidney stone you have, your doctor will be able to recommend appropriate treatment and help prevent the condition from returning in the future.