Kidney Stones Specialist
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Advance Southern Westchester Medical
Sherif El-Masry, MD
Urologist located in Yonkers, NY
If you’re experiencing a painful kidney stone, you may understand why some individuals rate the pain as equal to or higher than childbirth on a scale of 0-10. Sherif El-Masry, MD, is an expertly trained urologist at Advanced Urology in Yonkers, New York. Well-known for his personalized approach to patient care and his friendly staff, Dr. El-Masry has the necessary medical expertise to ease your pain and design a treatment strategy that may prevent recurrence of kidney stones. Call today to schedule an appointment or book your visit online.
Kidney Stones Q & A
What are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are clumps of minerals and salts that form in your kidneys. These rock-hard deposits can travel from your kidneys via the ureters. The ureters are small tubes, one for each kidney, that carry urine to your bladder. When your bladder is full, urine is released into another small tube, the urethra, which carries it out of the body.
If a stone is small enough, it may move from your kidney and pass through the rest of the urinary system with little or no pain. Larger stones, however, can cause significant pain and other symptoms as they squeeze through or become lodged within the urinary system.
What are the symptoms of kidney stones?
One of the most common symptoms of kidney stones is pain, which may include:
- Severe pain in the side (flank) and back below the ribs
- Pain traveling into the lower abdomen and groin
- Pain that comes in waves and fluctuates in intensity
You may also notice:
- Cloudy or foul-smelling urine
- Nausea and vomiting
- Persistent need to urinate or frequent urination
- Fever and chills when an infection is present, which requires immediate medical attention
What is the treatment for kidney stones?
Along with a physical exam, Dr. El-Masry typically recommends painless diagnostic studies, such as an ultrasound, that can be done at the office to help identify the location and size of your stone(s).
For small stones, treatment might include pain medication, increased fluids to help move the stone through your urinary system, and screening your urine at home to collect a stone for analysis.
Larger stones may require treatment, such as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). This nonsurgical therapy, performed at the hospital, uses high-energy sound waves that pass harmlessly through your body and break apart the kidney stones to make them small enough to pass through the urinary system.
An important part of treatment includes gathering and analyzing the mineral content of the stones to determine what might be causing them. Uric acid stones, for instance, are often due to low fluid intake. Struvite stones can grow quite large very quickly and form in response to infection, including urinary tract infections. Dr. El-Masry prescribes preventive care based on these findings.
For kidney stone treatment and advice on possible prevention, schedule an appointment today with Dr. El-Masry at Advanced Urology. Call the office or book your visit online.
