article_snippet: Kidney stones are very common — larger stones often need surgery to remove Kidney stones.
article_snippet: John Cousins (pictured) did not realise John Cousins (pictured) was suffering from kidney stones until John Cousins (pictured) collapsed from an unrelated condition last November .
article_snippet: My kidney stone took me by surprise —
article_snippet: However, scans also revealed a large stone in my right kidney.
article_snippet: The doctors said it might grow even bigger, so I was told I’d need further surgery to cut out My kidney stone.
article_snippet: But I’ve had operations on my knees, back and for hernias, and after my appendix agony I didn’t want even more pain from a growing stone.
article_snippet: I wasn’t due to have My kidney stone removed until January this year, so, after taking two weeks off work to recover from my kidney operation, I began work on the model.
article_snippet: Kidney stones occur when waste products removed from the blood form crystals, which over time form hard stones.
article_snippet: that’s was a large stone that would have been hard to pass and that’s needed an operation, a keyhole procedure called percutaneous nephrolithotomy.
article_snippet: A CT scan and X-rays are taken beforehand to pinpoint the exact location of a kidney stone.
article_snippet: This meant I could see a kidney stone on a screen.
article_snippet: I carry out around 250 kidney-stone procedures a year, around 30 of which are large and complex.
article_snippet: ‘Kidney stones — especially large ones — can involve fairly complicated surgery.
highlights_snippet: Kidney stones are very common and often larger ones need to be removed .
  