I was joined tonight by Mr Andrew Ballaro, consultant urological surgeon at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust and at Spire Hartswood Hospital. Mr Ballaro is a member of the British Urological Surgeons and is heavily involved in urological education. He was talking about kidney stones and the treatments that are available.

Kidney stones are a hard mass formed inside the kidneys, typically consisting of insoluble calcium compounds. The waste products in the blood can occasionally form crystals that collect inside the kidneys. Over time, the crystals build to form a stone like lump.

After the stone has formed, the body will try to pass it out in the urine. Small stones can pass out painlessly, and you might not even know you had one, but if a stone gets stuck it can cause a lot of pain in the back or groin and sometimes causes  a urinary tract infection.

Stones can be caused by bad diet, lack of exercise, too much protein in the diet, too much acid or, in rare cases,  genetics. They are more common in men than women.

Lithotripsy is a procedure that uses high energy sound waves to break the stones into fragments , which can then be flushed out in the urine .Ureterorenoscopy is another procedure which involves passing a small telescope and another instrument into the area and the surgeon can remove it by chipping away at it while watching the procedure on a screen. Laser lithotrpsy is another option which involes inserting a laser into the area and disintegrating the stone from the inside.

If you feel that you may have a kidney stone or are experiencing some discomfort in the back or groin then go straight to Mr Ballaro at Hartswood to get checked out. It is also possible to see him by GP referral.