Pain Management Strategies for Patients with Kidney Stones

Kidney stones have been a source of severe pain for at least thousands of years, yet achieving adequate pain control remains a struggle for providers to this day. Additionally, even the surgical interventions offered to address stones are fraught with potentially difficult-to-control perioperative pain. Herein, we delve into the implications of pain management and strategies to best address renal colic and perioperative pain associated with ureteral stents, ureteroscopy, shock wave lithotripsy, and percutaneous renal surgery.