Nephrology (Kidney)

Dialysis to Replace Kidney Function

Healthy kidneys clean your blood and make hormones to keep your bones and blood strong. When your kidneys fail, you’ll require dialysis treatment to replace your own kidney’s function.

Dialysis can help keep your body in balance by removing waste, salt and extra water from your body; keeping a safe level of potassium, sodium and bicarbonate in your blood; and helping to control blood pressure.

Kidney Stone Removal (Lithotripsy)

Lithotripsy is a noninvasive procedure that uses shock waves to break kidney stones into tiny pieces. Using a device called a lithotripter, technicians send safe, high-energy waves through your body to crush kidney stones. Once the stones are broken into little pieces, the fragments are later passed through the urinary tract.

The lithotripter is a mobile system, but it is commonly used in the operating room for patient convenience and safety. The service can usually be performed within an hour and most patients resume regular activities within a day or two.

Lithotripsy removes kidney stones that are:

• Too large to pass on their own
• Causing bleeding
• Causing chronic pain
• Causing urinary tract infections
• Doing damage to kidney tissue

Not all kidney stones can be removed using lithotripsy. Talk to your doctor about whether this type of kidney stone removal procedure is right for you.