Pediatric Urinary Stone Program

Urinary stones can be extremely painful and affect a child’s urinary tract health. Our clinic emphasizes treatments as well as prevention to help your child avoid future stones.

Features of our dedicated clinic include:

• Pediatric expertise: Although a common problem for adults, stones are generally rare in children. That’s why it is important to trust your child’s care to team with experience and training working with children.
• Specialized team: Our clinic includes pediatric experts in urology, nephrology (study of kidney diseases) and nutritionists.
• Comprehensive management: We offer diagnosis, treatment and prevention for a wide range of conditions, including kidney stone, ureteral stones and bladder stones.
• Advanced treatments:  We offer some of the most advanced surgeries used today to treat stones, including minimally invasive and robotic pyelolithotomy or ureterolithotomy.

Some children may require surgery or a series of procedures to treat stones entirely. Our urologists may recommend one or more of the following advanced treatments we offer:

• Cystoscopy
• Ureteroscopy: Removes small stones by threading a long, thin, flexible tube (ureteroscope) to the site of the stone and using tiny tools to break it up so it can pass with urine
• Holmium-laser lithotripsy: Inserts a scope with a flexible laser that, when activated at the site of the stone, breaks it up into smaller pieces that can pass with urine
• Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL): Uses sound waves to create vibrations that break up stones so they can pass with urine
• Percutaneous nephrostolithotomy (PCNL): Surgically removes large kidney stones through a small incision in the back
• Open pyelolithotomy or ureterolithotomy: Surgically removes large stones from the renal pelvis or ureter (tube between kidney and bladder) through an incision
• Laparoscopic or robotic pyelolithotomy or ureterolithotomy: Minimally invasive procedure that removes large stones from the renal pelvis or ureter through tiny incisions without the need for open surgery

Our Urinary Stone Program emphasizes education for children and families, to help you learn how to manage stones and prevent future ones.

Urinary stones affect every child differently. One of our nephrologists will meet with you and your child to review diet and lifestyle factors that contribute to stone formation. This comprehensive evaluation includes:

• Detailed medical history
• Nutritional evaluation
• Analysis of urine and blood to identify risk factors