What to Expect at Your First Appointment at the Stone Center
The Stone Center is one of the few dedicated pediatric kidney stone centers in the country. Each year, our expert team cares for more than 100 children from across the globe with stones in their urinary tract.
We are committed to working closely with your family to provide excellent clinical care that fits your child’s needs. Our team offers the latest minimally invasive stone treatments, medicines and dietary advice to help prevent urinary stones. We also use the latest evidence-based guidelines to perform safe imaging testing.
Whether your child experiences kidney stones once or has a complex condition that causes chronic stones, we provide the treatment they need. Learn more about what to expect when your child visits the Stone Center.
Making an Appointment at Stone Center
We believe the best results happen for children when families, patients and a healthcare team work together. To visit our team, you will need a referral from your child’s primary care physician who will receive regular updates from us. Once your physician has made the referral, you can schedule an appointment by contacting us.Our nationally-recognized specialists also provide online second opinions for families outside of the Greater Cincinnati region. In these convenient and secure visits, they will review your case and answer specific questions about a diagnosis or treatment options. Our case manager will collect your medical records and guide you through the process before your visit.
Preparing for Your Visit
To make the most of your first visit, our nurse coordinator may arrange for your child to complete some testing before the visit. Your child might have imaging or urine testing completed at one of our outpatient labs or imaging centers. We can then review the test results with you during your child’s appointment.
On the Day of Your Visit at Stone Center
Before Your Appointment
We ask that you arrive in the clinic 15 minutes before your appointment. The Stone Center is on the main campus of Cincinnati Children’s in Location A, on the first floor in the Urology / Nephrology Clinic. The Stone Center also sees patients at the Liberty Campus. We are on the third floor in the Urology / Nephrology Clinic.
Both locations are large facilities, so please be sure to leave enough time to park and walk to our offices.
Please contact us if you are running late for your appointment.
At Your Appointment
We believe in teaming with families to provide personalized care. At your appointment, we’ll get to know your child and your family so we can offer treatments that fit your child’s needs.
During your appointment, you may meet multiple specialists from our team, including a urologist, nephrologist, dietitian, and other team members. We encourage you and your child to ask us any questions you have so that you can fully understand your child’s condition and treatment options.
At your initial appointment, your child’s care team will:
- Talk to you about your family history of stones
- Perform a physical exam
- Discuss any test results
- Teach you about your child’s condition and treatment
- Perform imaging tests such as a kidney ultrasound or X-ray
- Order any additional tests needed, such as genetic testing
- Provide dietary counseling help reduce your child’s risk of stones
- Prescribe pain medicines to help your child with severe pain caused by stones or medicines to help reduce their risk of stones, such as water pills
- Recommend any minimally invasive surgical procedures your child might need to break up stones
Your child’s exact treatment plan will be based on their diagnosis, the size of their stones and other factors.
After Your Visit at Stone Center
You will receive a document called an “After Visit Summary” before you leave the office. It includes important information about the next steps in your child’s care, including any upcoming appointments and tests. We will also give you a handbook to help you learn about stones.
If you have any questions or need to schedule another appointment, please contact the Stone Center.
