Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about Kidney Stones.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero definals.com slash kidney stones or in the urology section of the Zero to finals surgery book. So let's get straight into it.

Kidney stones are also referred to as renal calculi, urolithiasis and nephrolithiasis. They're hard stones that

form in the renal pelvis, where the urine collects before it travels down the ureters.

Kidney stones may be asymptomatic until they irritate or they get stuck in the ureters.

They might get stuck at any point along the ureters, but most often this happens at the visico-uritoric junction,

which is the junction between the ureter and the bladder.

There are two key complications to kidney stones.

The first is obstruction, which can lead to an acute kidney injury

because urine can't drain away from the kidney,

and so there's back pressure into the kidney affecting the function.

And the second is infection, with obstructive pylinephritis, or infection in the kidney caused by obstruction,

so that infective matter builds up in the kidney tissue. Let's talk about the types of kidney stones.

Calcium-based stones are the most common type of kidney stone, and this accounts for about 80% of kidney stones. Calcium-based stones are the most common type of kidney

stone, and this accounts for about 80% of kidney stones. Having a raised serum calcium level,

or hypercalcemia, and a low urine output are key risk factors for calcium collecting into a stone.

There are two types of calcium stones. Calcium oxalate,

which is the more common type, and calcium phosphate stones. The other types of kidney stones include

uric acid stones and uric acid stones are not visible on x-rays, struvite stones, and struvite is a chemical that's produced by bacteria,

and these are associated with infection,

and cysteine stones, and these are associated with cysteine urea,

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