The Gentle, Experienced Urology Care You Need When it Matters Most
Sometimes your urology needs require more than an in-office treatment to get your body back on track. We treat our Pittston patients and neighbors like family, and never recommend anything that’s unnecessary. Our goal is to help you finally achieve relief from your urological discomfort or disease. Your comfort and concerns always come first.
Cystoscopy
Both men and women will sometimes need to undergo a common procedure known as a cystoscopy. While sometimes this procedure can be conducted in our office, some patients require more sedation and hospital visit to achieve completion. The great thing about this procedure is it’s a great way to get to the bottom of what’s causing your urologic problems so we can design a comprehensive treatment plan customized just for you. We use the findings to diagnose and treat different conditions that may affect both your urethra and bladder health.
We will assess your urologic health to figure out why you’re experiencing symptoms like pain during urination, incontinence, blood in the urine, an overactive bladder, and urinary tract infections. We can even use the cystoscopy to diagnose and treat various bladder diseases such as inflammation, stones, or even cancer. It’s also extremely useful for helping the doctor diagnose and treat an enlarged prostate where the urethra is narrowed as it passes through your prostate gland.
The procedure itself involves a cystoscope (think of a hollowed tube) that allows for the safe examination of the lining of your bladder and your urethra so we can determine if there are issues with urine leaving your bladder. It generally requires a local anesthetic to numb the urethra but some patients require more in-depth treatment and sedation, so the hospital is the best option for safe, high-quality care.
Bladder Biopsy
A bladder biopsy is an effective diagnostic procedure that urologists rely on to figure out what’s causing your urological discomfort and symptoms such as:
- Frequent, painful urination
- Bloody, cloudy urine
- Lower back pain
There are so many reasons you could be experiencing these symptoms. It could be something as simple as an infection. Prior to your procedure, you’ll most likely have a urine test and X-ray imaging, or a CT scan. A bladder biopsy is generally done if there’s a suspicion of something more serious such as cancer, but there’s no reason to panic.
ESWL (extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy)
Kidney stones are fairly common and can occur when minerals and other materials slowly crystalize in your kidneys to create a solid mass or stone that can vary in size and shape. Most of the time, they’re able to pass through during urination, but sometimes they grow too large and require a little extra help for extraction in order to prevent any damage to your kidneys.
Kidney stones make themselves known by giving you side effects such as pain that becomes severe, an infection of your urinary tract, or bleeding. Lithotripsy, the most common form of extracorporeal (outside the body) shock wave therapy, uses innovative sound waves to break up stones into smaller pieces for easier passage. This treatment is successful thanks to a device called a lithotripter that’s used to generate the helpful shockwaves. It’s been used since the 80s and requires some form of anesthesia to avoid any pain. After the procedure, you’ll remove the debris through urination.
Ureteroscopy
We see so many patients who struggle with issues related to the urinary tract and we’re here to help. One of the most common problems is when stones become lodged in the ureter which is the duct that helps your urine to pass from the kidney to the bladder. We can recommend a ureteroscopy, an effective diagnostic procedure that also helps the doctor fix:
- Ureter or kidney stones
- Bloody urine
- Unusual cells following a urine sample
- A growth in the ureter
The ureteroscopy utilizes an innovative tool called a ureteroscope that looks like a thin tube with an attached eyepiece and a light on either end of the device. We can use a scope equipped with a small basket to remove the stone. If your stone is a bit larger, there are other options where a laser beam is used to break the stone down so it can be easily pass through urination.
Laser Litho
Laser lithotripsy is another effective technique to break up pesky kidney stones. We uses something called a ureteroscope equipped with a laser that can break your kidney stones into smaller pieces so they can be removed during your procedure or passed later during urination.
The doctor may have to insert a stent in your ureter to help both your urine and stone debris to pass clearly. The procedure usually takes about an hour. With laser treatment, you won’t have to worry about incisions or scarring. As with most hospital-based procedures, you’ll need to undergo general anesthesia so the doctor can take care of you without any pain and discomfort. You may have to arrange for a ride home from your treatment and for some extra help at home while your body recovers.
TURP (Transurethral resection of the prostate)
Men who have been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate may benefit from this effective treatment designed to treat urinary problems that are sometimes associated with the abnormality. If you haven’t responded to medications intended to treat an enlarged prostate, transurethral resection of the prostate or TURP may be an option that will work for you. TURP can help reduce urinary symptoms that can include:
- Difficult or slow urination
- Frequent need to urinate
- Unable to empty your bladder
- Urinary tract infections
A TURP procedure can treat your symptoms but not necessarily cure your disease. Sometimes patients who are unable to urinate due to prostate cancer will benefit from this procedure especially if they are unable to undergo prostate removal surgery.
TURBT (transurethral resection of bladder tumor)
One of the ways we can determine if bladder cancer is to blame for your urinary issues is by performing something known as a transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). Doctors often use this non-surgical procedure to also determine if cancer is present, has it spread into the bladder wall’s muscle layer. In the very early stages of bladder cancer or if you have cancer that’s yet to spread to the muscle, this is a very common solution that doctors will use so they can have a more precise diagnosis.
This effective procedure relies on something called a resectoscope that’s inserted through the urethra, you’ll need general or local anesthesia so that’s why it completed in a hospital setting. The scope has a wire loop at the end so we can remove the tumor and any abnormal tissue he may find before sending to a pathology lab for testing.
Nephrectomy (Kidney Removal)
There are a number of reasons why we will perform a nephrectomy. This procedure involves the surgical removal of a kidney as a result of cancer, the presence of a tumor, or to help treat an injury or disease. The National Kidney Foundation suggests there are thousands of nephrectomies completed successfully every year. There are different kinds of nephrectomies:
- Partial nephrectomy – a diseased or injured portion of your kidney is removed.
- Radical nephrectomy – the entire kidney and the adrenal gland are removed.
- Bilateral nephrectomy – both kidneys are removed.
- Donor nephrectomy – when a kidney is removed to use in a transplant patient.
The procedure requires general anesthesia, so that’s why it’s performed in a hospital setting. If you have any questions about how to prepare for a nephrectomy or what you can expect afterward, it’s important to speak with the doctor.
Prostatectomy
If you or someone in your family is struggling with prostate disease or cancer, you can talk to the doctor to understand how a prostatectomy works. Essentially, it involves partially or fully removing the prostate gland. The prostate gland is located near the bladder and can cause painful, irritating side effects if it becomes too enlarged such as urinary incontinence, pain or burning during urination, painful ejaculation, and the need to urinate many times throughout the night.
Prostatectomies are commonly used to help treat prostate cancer that’s localized and can work in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiation. There are different ways to perform a prostatectomy. You’ll most likely receive a general anesthetic prior to your surgery making it necessary for this procedure to be completed at the hospital so you can recover comfortably.
Orchiectomy
Depending on the location and severity of your possible prostate cancer, we may perform a surgery known as an orchiectomy which involves the removal of one or both of the testicles. The surgery is also a way to treat breast cancer in men because without it lessens the amount of the hormone known as testosterone that your body produces. This hormone tends to make both breast and prostate cancer grow more rapidly.
So, this surgery can help slow down your cancer growth rates and can even help soothe your cancer symptoms or side effects. In order to be considered for an orchiectomy procedure you should be in good health and if you have cancer, the cells should not have spread throughout your body. They need to be localized to your prostate gland or testicles. Prior to your surgery, the doctor may recommend blood work to assess your overall health and run further testing for cancer cell detection and monitoring.