Bay Area hospital fights summer kidney stones

CONCORD, Calif. (KGO) -- It's been years since Tanya Shock gave birth to her kids. But now, she says she has something to compare the pain to.

"I've had three children, and kidney stones are far worse," Shock said.

After being overcome by pain at her daughter's graduation party, Shock eventually traveled from the Central Valley to John Muir Medical Center in Concord.

Dr. Brian Hopkins says the stones form in the kidneys in a process that can be aggravated by conditions like dehydration. He says sunbaked areas like Contra Costa County see waves of kidney stone cases over the summer months.

"We're in middle of stone season right now," Hopkins said.

Hopkins says the volume of patients became so heavy that John Muir invested in a high-tech device known as a shockwave lithotripter.

Patients like Shock are placed on a flat surface with a kind of electromagnetic zapper housed underneath. First technicians use X-ray images to aim the beam directly at the kidney stone. Once it's activated, shockwaves of energy flow through the soft tissue of the body, causing no damage, until they hit the solid stone.

"The stone is completely fragmented up," Hopkins said.

Doctors image as they go, to make sure the kidney stone is completely broken up. The treatment typically takes about 20 minutes to half an hour under anesthesia.

For Tanya the results were so effective, she's planning to resurrect her summer vacation plans.

"Oh, we're going camping for sure that was put on hold, and now it's back on," she said.

Written and produced by Tim Didion