Kidney stones
We relieve your symptoms and pain
Even the ancient Egyptians suffered from kidney stones – scientists discovered this using a 7000-year-old mummy. Kidney stones are among the most frequent and most painful diseases of the urinary tract. If permanent symptoms and complications occur, they must be treated.At Schoen Clinic, we specialise in treating kidney stones. We have different therapy methods at our disposal to free you from the painful stones.

Causes & symptoms
What are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are hard stones formed from crystalline substances in urine in the kidney. Most of these little crystals leave the body without even being noticed. However, crystals that remain behind can act as crystallisation nuclei and become a kidney stone. Urolithiasis is the medical term for stones in the urinary tract. Men are affected by this five times more frequently than women. The typical age of onset of the disease is between 20 and 40 years.Struvite or infection stones are less frequent; they are often caused by a urinary tract infection. Uric acid or cystine stones occur rarely. If a kidney stone is washed into the ureter, it is also called a ureter stone. Gallstones and kidney stones are not connected; they form in different regions of the body.
Kidney stones: Causes of the disease
The cause of kidney stones often remains unknown. Certain eating habits can lead to them in susceptible people. Urinary tract infections, changes in the kidney and metabolic diseases can also be triggers. 70 per cent of people suffering from the rare hereditary renal tubular acidosis also develop kidney stones. Two other rare hereditary metabolic diseases that can be responsible for kidney stones are cystinuria and hyperoxaluria.In the absorptive form of hypercalciuria, the body takes too much calcium from food and releases it via the urine. Due to the high concentration of calcium in the urine, crystals of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate are formed, which become stones in the urinary tract.
Other causes are hyperuricosuria, uric acid metabolic syndrome, gout, excessive absorption of vitamin D and blockages within the urinary tract. Certain diuretics or calcium-based antacids can promote the formation of kidney stones by increasing the concentration of calcium in urine. Patients who experience chronic inflammation of the intestine, an intestinal bypass or a stoma also have an increased risk. Urinary stones can form in people who have a urinary tract infection. People treated with indinavir because of HIV infection and AIDS are also at an increased risk of forming kidney stones.