Kidney stones can be seen in children as in adults. Kidney stone disease in children is more common in Turkey than in other countries. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kirac, a urologist, explained the laser treatment methods used for the diagnosis and treatment of kidney stone disease in children.

Symptoms Of Kidney Stone

Contrary to popular belief, kidney stone disease in children is a more common disease in Turkey than in other countries. Its incidence is 1-2 on average. Although it can be seen in children of all age groups from 6 months to 18 years of age, it can manifest itself with serious problems in children under the age of 6 more.  

Although kidney stones show symptoms earlier with complaints of pain in the lumbar region in older children, they are more common in younger children with problems such as urinary tract infection, nausea, vomiting, weakness, inability to gain weight, and inability to breastfeed. In some cases, signs of blood in the urine may also be observed.

Treatment Of Kidney Stone Disease In Children

Kidney stone treatment in children is planned according to the condition of the child, kidney and kidney stone. However, it is usually treated using minimal surgical techniques that will cause the least harm to the child, rather than invasive surgical techniques. Laparoscopic surgery techniques are at the top of these. 

Although it varies according to the size of the stone and the condition of the child, the treatment of kidney stone disease can be completed with an operation that takes an average of 1 hour. However, if the size of the stone is over 2 cm or if the child has additional pathologies that need to be treated, the treatment period may be longer. The child is usually discharged the next day after being kept under control in the hospital for one postoperative day. Due to intraoperative general anesthesia, the child is asleep and does not feel any pain or ache.

Postoperative Medical Care

Kidney stone disease in children is not only resolved by surgery, stone formation has a 50 percent chance of recurrence in the long run. For this reason, additional treatments should be administered to prevent recurrence of stone formation after surgery. After the operation, the kidney stone is analyzed and according to the results of this analysis, the child is started on special drug preventive treatment.

The risk of kidney stone disease in children is very low and the treatment success rate is over 90 percent. Kidney stone disease formation is mostly genetic. Malnutrition is among other risk factors. Malnutrition can trigger kidney stone disease. Children of parents with a familial history of kidney stone disease should take adequate fluids. Feeding with breast milk is important for breastfeeding children.

Older children should consume sufficient fluids as appropriate. High protein and salt consumption should be avoided. Half or a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice daily helps to protect against kidney stone disease as it contains citrate.