Bladder stones

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Female urinary tract

Male urinary tract

Stones - bladder; Urinary tract stones; Bladder calculi

Drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water or more per day, enough to increase urinary output, may help the stones pass.

Stones that do not pass on their own may be removed by your health care provider using a cystoscope (a small tube that passes through the urethra to the bladder). Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) uses ultrasonic waves to break up stones.

Some stones may need to be removed using open surgery.

Medications are rarely used to dissolve the stones.

Underlying causes of bladder stones should be treated. Most commonly bladder stones are seen in conjunction with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or bladder outlet obstruction.

For patients with BPH and bladder stones, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) can be performed with ESWL.

Most bladder stones are expelled or can be removed without permanent damage to the bladder. They may recur if the underlying cause is not corrected.

If the stones are left untreated they may cause repeated urinary tract infections or permanent damage to the bladder or kidneys.

• Recurrence of stones
• Urinary tract infection, chronic or recurrent
• Obstruction of the urethra
• Reflux nephropathy
• Acute bilateral obstructive uropathy
• Chronic bladder dysfunction (incontinence or urinary retention)

Call your health care provider if symptoms indicate that you may have bladder stones.

Review Date: 06/13/2006
Reviewed By: Neil D. Sherman, MD, Urologist, Essex County, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.