When is surgery necessary to remove a kidney stone?
Surgery is necessary to remove a kidney stone when a stone is too big to pass on its own, or if it’s small enough to pass but just simply won’t pass on its own, or if the person has a urinary tract infection at the same time that there’s a stone with an obstruction of the system. That becomes a critical point where surgery should be entertained and performed on that individual. Finally, if the pain, nausea, vomiting, and dehydration that can occur from the vomiting are severe enough, then we would elect to move forward with surgery to remove the kidney stone at that point.
