New Laser Technology for Kidney Stone Patients

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of experiencing kidney stones, you’ll know how painful they can be. You might remember feeling nauseous and throwing up, sweating through a fever or being unable to move due to their discomfort. And if you’ve ever had them removed, you’ll be familiar with the marked difference in your health and quality of life.

Excitingly, a new state-of-the-art laser – fully funded by our Cabrini community – will help our team of urologists to offer faster, safer and more precise treatments for patients with kidney stones.

Cabrini Urologist Mr David Dangerfield says the MOSES Holmium Laser will make a huge impact on a large number of people.

“Up to eight percent of Australians can get kidney stones. The pain is described as the most severe that a person can endure, and usually requires admission to hospital for treatment,” says David.

“We want to provide the best outcomes for our patients, and this new laser will allow us to do that.”

Kidney stones are mineral and salt deposits that form inside your kidneys. They can be really small – as tiny as a grain of sand – or as large as a golf ball. Pain comes when the stone dislodges and starts to move through the urinary tract.

Currently, many urologists like David use an older laser model to blast the stones apart. It’s a procedure that can take up to two hours. Once disintegrated, the ‘dust’ can pass through the body and be eliminated. Unfortunately, this technology often leaves fragments of stone, which can have adverse effects.

“The laser we have now, hits the kidney stone and fragments just go off everywhere. And then you have to try and clean them up and pull them out. That leads to higher retention of fragments and repeat procedures – which means a prolonged recovery for the patient.”

The MOSES Laser changes this by automatically adjusting its energy source to better fragment and clear stones with less complications. It’s the new gold standard for laser lithotripsy.

“People who are severely ill and in pain can be cured, and have their symptoms relieved quickly and efficiently,” says David. “Thanks to the wonderful support from our Cabrini community, we can make a huge impact on a large number of people who are ill from this common presentation.”

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