Early access to breakthrough, more convenient kidney stone treatment
Living with kidney stones can mean repeated procedures and long recoveries. Advances in urology care are helping patients experience less disruption and a faster return to daily life.
We are advancing kidney stone care by giving patients earlier access to breakthrough treatments that are safer, more convenient and less disruptive to daily life.
For Manny Chiquita that progress has been life changing. More than 30 years ago, Manny first experienced a sharp pain while golfing in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, the beginning of a long journey with recurrent kidney stones. “I saw blood in my urine and ignored it,” he recalls. “I told myself that if it happened again, I’d see a doctor.
Two months later, with two young children at home, Manny visited his family physician. Tests revealed a 17‑millimetre kidney stone lodged in his urinary tract, causing significant pain and bleeding. Because of its size, surgery was the only option.
Now 67, Manny has become a familiar face at the Stone Centre at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), where he receives ongoing care and monitoring. Over the years, he has often relied on extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), a proven treatment that uses high‑intensity sound waves to break up stones but typically requires sedation, fasting and recovery time.
That experience changed when Dr. Ben Chew, Stone Centre urologist and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) investigator, invited Manny to participate in the first clinical trial of a new technology: Break Wave Lithotripsy (BWL). Manny didn’t hesitate.
BWL uses low‑intensity sound waves to gently fragment kidney stones without the need for anesthesia, dietary preparation, or sedation. The procedure takes about 30 minutes, uses radiation‑free ultrasound imaging, and allows patients to drive themselves home afterward. Compact and compatible with existing ultrasound machines, the technology has the potential to expand access to kidney stone treatment across hospital.
For Manny, the benefits were immediate. “I would choose BWL again in a heartbeat. There was no prep, no recovery time, and I was able to pass all my stones. It was 100 per cent successful for me.”
For patients like Manny, research innovations such as BWL offer more than comfort and convenience, they provide a faster path to recovery and better quality of life. This work reflects our commitment to advancing patient-centred care and making leading-edge kidney stone treatments more accessible across Vancouver Coastal Health.
