Study reveals leaving small kidney stones behind causes complications later

Small stones that don't seem to be creating issues are frequently left behind when kidney stones are surgically removed from patients. Leaving these asymptomatic stones behind, however, dramatically raises the likelihood of a patient experiencing a relapse in the five years that follow, according to a recent randomized controlled research. The findings of the research were published in the journal
New England Journal of Medicine.

Generally, stones under 6mm in diameter that are not a procedure's primary target are not removed but monitored because "secondary" stones have high rates of successful passage if they move into the ureter, said lead author Dr. Mathew Sorensen, a urologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

"Before this study, the clinical views were pretty mixed on whether some of these stones should be treated. Most clinicians would decide, based on the size of the stone, whether it hit the bar for treatment, and if it did not, you would often ignore the little stones," he said.

Removal of the secondary stones reduced the relapse rate by 82 per cent, the researchers found, leading the authors to recommend that smaller stones should not be left behind.