Retired consultant Dr Roy Cockel found himself undergoing the type of treatment he provided to hundreds of patients after almost collapsing in agony at home.

Gastroenterologist Dr Cockel needed treatment after being admitted to QEHB with severe pain, which was later found to be due to kidney stones.

The 75-year-old, who worked for 46 years until finally retiring in 2010, was immediately treated using a new type of machine before being allowed home a couple of days later pain-free.

The non-invasive treatment, known as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), uses a high-intensity acoustic pulse to break up the stone.

Dr Cockel, who began his career at the General Hospital in 1964, said: “The technique of shockwave lithotripsy has been around for years but is much more efficient now.

“I didn’t do kidney stones when I worked at Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak hospitals, but we used the shockwave lithotripsy for gallstones as it already worked on kidney stones. But it is much more advanced now than it used to be.”

Dr Cockel was at home in the kitchen of his south Birmingham home when he first felt the pain.

He recalled: “I was peeling potatoes and suddenly felt this severe pain. I had never experienced anything like this before. It was the worst pain I had ever had but I managed not to fall to the ground.

“It went off after about an hour but then came back about three hours later and wouldn’t go away, so I rang 999.”

Dr Cockel was taken to QEHB where he was given an ultrasound scan followed later the same night by a CT scan, which revealed the kidney stone.

“I was given a couple of shots of morphine and then put on this wonderful new machine which gives you electromagnetic shocks over the kidney region over a half-hour period.

“The machine smashes the stone into powder so you don’t feel it passing.”

After further bouts of treatment over the next couple of days, Dr Cockel said he woke up in hospital pain free and with no sign of any symptoms. Further tests have not revealed any sign of the stone, he added.

Lithotripsy treatment has been around since 1980 when aircraft engineers found a dent in the metal body of aircraft when subjected to sound waves. This led to the use of sound waves to shatter kidney stones.

Initial machines were large and cumbersome with patients lying in a bath of water, whereas modern machines are much smaller and even portable.

Urology consultant Subu Subramonian said: “The incidence of kidney stones has increased over the years coinciding with the unhealthy habits of modern living. Dehydration is the most common cause of stone formation and global warming has certainly contributed to this. Increased consumption of meat and salt also contributes to stone formation, while it has been shown that obesity is closely linked to stone formation as well.

“The installation of this new lithotripsy machine in QEHB, which is the only static lithotripsy machine in the West Midlands, helps to tackle this increasing problem of stone disease. We accept referrals from the entire region and the feedback from our patients has been very encouraging.”