Preemptive Removal of Small, Asymptomatic Kidney Stones

Asymptomatic kidney stones are often noted on imaging studies that are performed to screen for stones or when a patient presents with symptomatic stones. Patients frequently ask two questions about the asymptomatic stones: “Will my stones ever become symptomatic?” and “How do we get those stones to come out before they get bigger?” These excellent queries derive from the patient’s knowledge that smaller stones can pass spontaneously but that the misery entailed by renal colic is memorable.1 The answer to the first query is “Yes, those stones are likely to become symptomatic.” But data are lacking on methods for getting . . .