Urology is a type of medical specialty that is associated with the treatment of male and female urinary tracts including the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. It also deals with male reproductive organs such as the penis, testes, scrotum, prostate, etc.
Urology surgery is the
procedure done to treat any obstructions, dysfunction, malignancies, and inflammatory
diseases of the urinary tract and the associated organs.
Until the late twentieth century, urological surgeries generally involved open abdominal surgery where the surgeon would make full incisions, and patients had to stay long periods at the hospital for their recovery.
Today, with the development of new surgical techniques and less invasive operative methods, surgery is less traumatic, with shortened hospitalizations.
One of these new methods of minimally invasive surgeries is the laparoscopic procedures that are improving non-stop and are performed through small keyhole incisions, and therefore, cut down on lengthy hospital stays and recovery times.
Laparoscopic surgery is effective for many urological treatments involving the kidneys, prostate, and bladder complications.
Conditions that can commonly be remedied by urological operations include:
Conditions that affect the function of the digestive, renal, and reproductive systems, can also be corrected by urological surgery, to clear obstructions and make augmentations.
Other cases that are seen more frequently include:
Depending on the condition you have, and the type of treatment you need, there is a range of various procedures that can be done to help care for your complications.
Some of the more commonly performed treatments in the field of urology include but are not limited to:
Your doctor will determine which type of surgery will suit your needs best.
The prostate gland is the organ that sits below the bladder and wraps around the tube that carries urine out of the body (urethra), and is also significant in making semen. This gland only exists in men.
A biopsy is a type of procedure done to remove a small piece of tissue or cells from the body so it can be examined under a microscope.
During a prostate biopsy, your doctor will remove tissues from the prostate gland, using biopsy needles, to then examine the removed tissues under the microscope to look for any cancerous tissues or abnormal complications.
A prostate biopsy is performed to detect cancer.
Your urologist will recommend you to have a prostate biopsy if:
There may be other reasons for your doctor to recommend a prostate biopsy.
A prostate biopsy can be done in various ways. These include:
1. Your specialist will ask you to either lie down on your side or your stomach and then insert a thin ultrasound probe through the rectum to identify the area that needs to be numbed with an injection to reduce discomfort associated with the biopsy.
2. After the area is numbed, using a spring propelled needle, your doctor will remove thin sections of tissue and cells from your prostate.
You may feel very brief uncomfortable sensation each time the spring-loaded needle takes a sample.
3. Your doctor will take the needed number of tissue samples – usually between 10 to 12 samples – and then finish the procedure.
The entire biopsy takes about 10 minutes.
Your doctor might recommend you to do only light activities for 24 to 48 hours following the procedure.
You may experience:
Some possible complications of a prostate biopsy may include:
Be sure to discuss any concerns with your doctor before the procedure.
Prostatectomy is a surgical procedure performed to remove either a part, or the entire prostate gland due to complications of the prostate.
Prostatectomy can be performed to treat various types of conditions. These include:
Your doctor can perform this, by using various techniques such as laparoscopic, robot–assisted, and open radical prostatectomy.
This type of prostatectomy is commonly performed to treat men with enlarged prostates and severe urinary symptoms.
1. You will be put under general anesthesia, which means that you will be asleep during surgery and feel no discomfort.
2. Depending on the type of procedure you are having, your doctor will make incisions, take out the entire or gland, or just fix the areas that are obstructing the flow of urine.
3. Once your doctor has removed the part of your prostate causing symptoms, one to two temporary drain tubes may be inserted through punctures in your skin near the surgery site.
4. Your surgeon will then close the incisions.
Just like any surgery, prostatectomy carries complications and risks.
Radical prostatectomy risks include:
Risks of open simple prostatectomy include:
Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is surgery to remove parts of the prostate gland through the penis, by inserting an instrument called a resectoscope through the penis and into the tube that directs urine out (urethra). This procedure doesn’t involve any incisions.
This procedure is a surgery performed to relieve urinary complications that are caused by an enlarged prostate, that can press against the urethra and interfere with or obstruct the flow of urine out of the body.
This is generally due to Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) and is a common part of aging.
Urinary symptoms caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) include:
Other types of conditions that can be treated by TURP include:
1. You will be under general anesthesia – meaning you will be unconscious and sleeping – or in other cases given spinal anesthesia – that numbs only certain areas.
2. Without any incisions, the resectoscope will be passed into the urethra. This instrument is used to cut away the pieces of prostate tissue that are bulging or blocking the urethra.
3. After removing the tissues, your doctor will put in a catheter into your bladder to help you urinate after surgery.
As with any surgery, TURP can carry certain risks and complications. Some possible risks may include:
Nephrectomy is a procedure done to remove all or part of the kidney. It may be done to treat kidney cancer or other conditions of kidney diseases and traumatic injuries.
Nephrectomy can also be performed to harvest a healthy kidney from a living or dead donor for a kidney transplant.
There are 2 types of nephrectomy that can be performed:
1) Partial: Where only the diseased or injured portion of the kidney is removed
2) Radical: Where the entire kidney is removed, along with a section of the tube leading to the bladder (ureter), the gland that sits atop the kidney (adrenal gland), and the fatty tissue surrounding the kidney.
Nephrectomy can also be performed either laparoscopically, robot-assisted, or by open surgery.
1. A nephrectomy procedure is performed during general anesthesia, meaning you will be asleep throughout the procedure and won’t feel any pain.
2. Depending on the type of surgery recommended by your physician, they will make incisions and remove parts or all of the kidney.
3. Your doctor will then close the incisions with sutures.
Nephrectomy is typically a safe procedure. But as with any surgery, it can carry some risks of complications, including:
The enlargement of the prostate is called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). An enlarged prostate gland can cause uncomfortable urinary symptoms, such as blocking the flow of urine out of the bladder. It can also cause bladder, urinary tract, or kidney problems.
BPH is common in men older than 50 years
When the prostate is enlarged, it can bother or block the bladder.
Symptoms may include:
Most common types of BPH treatment include:
· Laser therapy: where a high-energy laser destroys or removes overgrown prostate tissue
· Prostatic urethral lift (PUL): where special tags are used to compress the sides of the prostate to increase the flow of urine.
There are other types of minimally invasive procedures, used to treat BPH including Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), Transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP), Transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT), Transurethral needle ablation (TUNA).
Depending on the severity of your symptoms and condition, your urologist will recommend the best type of treatment for you.
Make sure to contact our team of medical experts via our free medical consultation services for any additional questions regarding your treatments or condition.
MedGo Team