Our new laser helps kidney stones bite the dust

from Better Health magazine, Fall, 2002

Ask a sampling of adults about pain, and chances are you'll hear often about kidney stones. No wonder there's great rejoicing about the new laser available at Danville Regional which vaporizes stones quickly and effectively on an outpatient basis.

"The Holmium YAG laser is light years ahead of other types of treatment for kidney stones," says Joseph Carbone, MD, urologist with Danville Urologic Clinic. "The Holmium literally turns the stones to dust."

The Holmium laser is a thin, flexible fiber, which is threaded through a scope to the site of the stone. The tip is positioned against the stone and energy is released, vaporizing the stone but leaving surrounding tissue largely unscathed. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis under IV sedation.

The Holmium laser procedure for stones is called endoscopic lithotripsy, since the scope delivers treatment to the site of the stone. Extracorporeal lithotripsy, in which sound waves travel through the body to break up the stone, is still used in many cases but may be less exact, says Carbone.

"We live in a part of the country in which kidney stones are very common, although the actual reasons for this are unknown," he says. "We can't say enough about the addition to our capabilities. Chances are, the new laser at Danville Regional Medical Center will have all of the kidney stone patients saying "Aaaaaaah".