Bladder stones form when substances (such as calcium oxalate) in the urine concentrate and coalesce into hard, solid lumps that lodge in the bladder. Often, several stones form at once. Normally, they are fairly small and are excreted in the urine without complications, but sometimes stones become trapped in the neck of the bladder and—as residues in the urine continue to accumulate—grow large enough to cause pain, urinary blockage, or infections, thus requiring surgical intervention. Bladder stones almost exclusively affect middle-aged and older men, but, for unknown reasons, are becoming increasingly rare.
How to Treat Bladder Stones
Your doctor may prescribe narcotic analgesics to relieve pain and antibiotics to treat an infection.
Smaller stones can be removed through a cystoscope, a tube inserted through the urethra that allows the doctor to view the stones. The scope can also be outfitted with a device that crushes the stones, after which the fragments are washed away.
Larger stones can be treated with extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy, which aims concentrated bursts of sound waves that pulverize the stones.
On rare occasions, very large stones may require surgical removal (suprapubic lithotomy).
The underlying problem (such as prostate enlargement) causing stones to be trapped in the bladder must be identified and treated to prevent recurrence.