Врач из Колорадо отказался от рентгена при удалении камней у детей ради их здоровья

Colorado doctor changing the way he does kidney stone removal surgery COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Colorado doctors say they’re finding more teenage girls are having kidney stones. While they’re not quite sure why just yet, one urologist with Children’s Hospital Colorado says he’s making some changes to how he performs removal surgery. “I started my training as a urologist about 10 years ago,” Dr. Heiko Yang said. Dr. Heiko Yang is an assistant professor and attending physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado. He’s been focusing on kidney stones for the last four years. “Kidney stones are funny by product of just the normal job that the kidney does, which is to filter the urine. Some of the things in the urine like calcium, different other chemicals can occasionally crystallize in the urine, and that’s usually how how kidney stones form,” he said. Dr. Yang said anyone can get kidney stones, but they’re seeing an increase in younger girls, with the number of patients nearly doubling in the last 20 years. And while they’re still trying to figure out why, Dr. Yang is changing the way he does kidney stone removal surgery. “A lot of the procedures I do and, you know, with the telescopes and then also, you know, poking a hole into the kidney traditionally has been done under the guidance of X-rays,” Dr. Yang said. In adults, Dr. Yang said the amount of X-ray relative to their size is low. But in kids, that same amount can have lasting consequences. “Radiation can damage the DNA, which in the short term you’re not going to feel. But, over the course of a lifetime and for kids, you know, they’re going to live a long time,” Dr. Yang said. “So, 20, 30, 40 years from now, what are we going to see?” He said improving technology has really made an impact. There are smaller scopes which provide better visualization, so X-rays aren’t really needed. “We’ve definitely gained efficiency, less use of resources, not to mention, and this is all, you know, in addition to the benefit to the patient, right? And the benefit to us as healthcare providers: anytime you use radiation in an operating room, you’re also exposing 5 other people to radiation,” Dr. Yang said. Children’s Hospital Colorado is one of very few hospitals that actually has a dedicated stone program. They’re using patients’ samples to try to figure out why there’s an increase in younger girls. “I think we have a lot to explore with this, and I think we have a lot of potential. So, we’re trying to figure this out,” Dr. Yang said. Dr. Yang also said patients can let kidney stones pass. But if children have nausea, vomiting and a fever, they should be taken to the emergency room. Copyright 2026 KKTV. All rights reserved.