How do we treat kidney stones?

A stone visit in Marietta

Our urologists see Cobb County stone patients at our Marietta Clinic & Surgery Center, where treatment also takes place. At the first visit we review a CT or ultrasound, check your urine and kidney function, and ask about past stones and family history. Straining your urine and bringing any stone you catch lets us find out what it's made of.

How we decide together

Treatment depends on the stone's size, where it sits and how you're feeling. Small stones often pass with fluids and medicine. Shock wave lithotripsy breaks stones from outside the body, and ureteroscopy uses a thin scope passed up through the urinary tract to reach and break them. After the stone is handled, we turn to prevention, which may include diet changes and a 24-hour urine test.

Head to the ER if

• Fever or chills come with stone pain
• Vomiting keeps you from holding down fluids
• You stop making urine

For questions short of an emergency, Cobb residents can call (678) 344-8900. Our team welcomes new patients from Marietta, Smyrna, Kennesaw and Acworth.

Drinking enough water to keep urine pale is a simple daily habit we encourage for nearly every stone former.

Keep reading

• Why do I need surveillance cystoscopy after bladder cancer?
• Bladder pills not enough? Questions to ask about next steps