If you tend to form uric acid stones, you may need to cut back on the amount of meat you eat. Cystine is one of the building blocks that make up muscles, nerves, and other parts of the body. Cystine can build up in the urine to form a stone. The disease that causes cystine stones runs in families. Kidney stones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pearl.
Some stones are even as big as golf balls.
Stones may be smooth or jagged. They are usually yellow or brown. If you have a stone that will not pass by itself, your doctor may need to take steps to get rid of it. In the past, the only way to remove a problem stone was through surgery. Now, doctors have new ways to remove problem stones.