University Hospitals opens a dedicated kidney stone clinic at UH Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood

A new one-stop clinic model for a common and painful condition

University Hospitals has opened a dedicated clinic for kidney stone disease at the Cutler Center for Men at UH Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood, creating a single destination intended to speed evaluation, coordinate treatment and emphasize prevention.

The program is structured around a multidisciplinary approach that brings urology, nephrology and nutrition services together with access to imaging. University Hospitals describes the clinic as designed to reduce delays that can occur when patients move between separate offices for testing and follow-up, and to provide a clearer pathway for people who might otherwise seek care through emergency departments when symptoms escalate.

How appointments are organized

The clinic is scheduled to operate on Wednesday afternoons and is built around a sequential visit model lasting about 90 minutes. Patients rotate through three segments with different specialists, with the goal of producing an integrated plan that can cover immediate symptom management, decisions about procedures when needed, and longer-term strategies to reduce recurrence.

Who the clinic is designed to serve

University Hospitals describes two broad clinical situations that the clinic will address. One involves stones discovered incidentally during imaging performed for other medical reasons. The other involves symptomatic cases, which can present with severe pain, blood in the urine or infection, sometimes in combination.

The clinic’s team includes a stone disease division chief, a urologist, a nephrologist and a registered dietitian. The inclusion of nutrition services is aimed at prevention and risk reduction, reflecting the health system’s assessment that most kidney stone cases have diet-related contributors, while a smaller share are linked to underlying renal or endocrine disorders.

Treatment options and the role of prevention

Not every kidney stone requires an intervention, and the clinic’s approach is designed to tailor decisions to factors such as stone size, location and patient circumstances. University Hospitals indicates that special situations—such as having a single kidney, limited ability to reach urgent care, or occupations where an unexpected episode could create safety risks—may require a different management strategy.

When procedures are appropriate, University Hospitals lists several options that may be used depending on the clinical picture:

• Ureteroscopy
• Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy
• Percutaneous surgery

The clinic is intended to combine diagnosis, treatment planning and prevention counseling in a coordinated visit rather than spreading steps across multiple appointments.

What changes for patients in Northeast Ohio

For patients, the practical shift is access to a single clinic designed to coordinate imaging, specialty evaluation and prevention counseling in one setting. University Hospitals is positioning the program as a way to provide faster access to specialty expertise for a condition that can become urgent quickly, while also focusing on reducing recurrence through evaluation and individualized prevention planning.