Small stones that don’t seem to be creating issues are frequently left behind when kidney stones are surgically removed from patients
Leaving asymptomatic stones behind raises the likelihood of a patient experiencing a relapse in the five years that follow
The findings of the research were published in the journal ‘New England Journal of Medicine’
Before this study, the clinical views were pretty mixed on whether some of these stones should be treated,” said lead author Dr Mathew Sorensen
He is 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,” he said
The investigators studied 75 patients who were treated at multiple institutions over a span from 2015 to 2021
About half of the patients had only their large primary stone treated, while the others had primary and secondary stones removed
Some patients in the study visited the emergency department multiple times and then required surgery, the report noted