Urology Specialist Dr. Uğur Akgün from Bursa City Hospital made explanations about kidney stone formation, symptoms and treatment methods in children.
Stating that kidney stones are small stones formed by the accumulation of hard minerals in the kidneys and urinary tract, Uzm. Dr. Akgün pointed out that although it is less common in children, it has increased in recent years. Emphasizing that there may be many reasons for the formation of kidney stones in children, Uzm. Dr. Akgün said, “Genetic factors, insufficient fluid consumption, eating habits, as well as excessively salty and protein-heavy foods can lead to kidney stones. At the same time, some metabolic diseases can also cause this.”
Emphasizing that there may be symptoms such as bleeding in the urine, a slight pinking in urine color, abdominal or back pain, Uzm. Dr. Akgün said, “There may be frequent and painful urination. There may be nausea or vomiting. In younger children, it may manifest itself with restlessness. If any of these symptoms are present, it is beneficial for their families to consult a urologist. We diagnose with ultrasound and X-ray. As an advanced examination, we reach a definitive diagnosis with computed tomography imaging. However, we gradually provide these imaging in children and we see tomography as the next option.”
Giving information about treatment methods, Akgün said, “If the stone is small and has fallen into the urinary canal, we can wait for the stone to fall spontaneously for a while with plenty of water consumption and painkillers. Apart from spontaneous dropping, our other treatment options can be shock wave therapy or endoscopic surgical methods, which we call ESWL. Shock wave therapy is a method used to break down kidney stones. It is a safe treatment option for children. Our other methods are endoscopic surgical interventions, if the stones will not fall spontaneously, if there is a situation such as damaging the kidney, this time we resort to endoscopic methods in these patients.”
Treated Without Feeling Pain
Stating that shock wave therapy called ESWL is a treatment method used with shock waves sent from outside the body to break down the stones in the kidneys and urinary tract, Akgün said, “This method breaks the stones into small pieces and allows them to be excreted more easily through urine. Since it does not require surgical intervention, it becomes an advantageous treatment option for children. When applying this to children, we usually use general anesthesia methods. This gives us the advantage that the child does not feel pain during the procedure.”
11 Month Old Baby Regained His Health
Stating that they recently removed an 11-millimeter kidney stone from the kidney of an 11-month-old baby, Akgün said, “We had an 11-month-old baby who applied again recently. We found an 11-millimeter kidney stone in our baby who came with complaints of pain and restlessness. Because of this stone, we applied stone crushing with shock wave therapy to our patient. With this application under general anesthesia, we successfully treated the stones without our baby feeling pain. As I said, this is a rare condition, but its frequency has been increasing in recent years. We also successfully apply shock wave therapy in our clinic.”
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