Stones that are less than 2 mm in size and located inside the kidney are amenable to ESWL. It typically involves a patient receiving a general anaesthetic and the shock waves that are generated outside the body are focussed on stone inside the kidney. The stone is then fragmented and the small fragments are passed in the days and weeks after the operation.

One can expect mild flank pain as well as bruising immediately after the procedure and in some cases, transient haematuria (blood in the urine). This would typically resolve within the first 24 hours and if it continues, please ring our practice.

Recovery after the procedure is fairly quick and you should be able to return to work within 2-3 days after the procedure.