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When to See an Urologist

People generally at times can be quite ignorant about their health. Usually, many of us are caught up with our chores and we tend to ignore any symptom that the body is trying to give us regarding a problem.

There was a case in the past when a man saw some blood in his urine after a vigorous work-out and consulted a primary care doctor. At the time of the visit, the doctor didn’t see any blood in the urine so he said there is no problem it might have occurred because of excessive exercise. Later when he was discussing the situation with another doctor and mentioned that he had intermittent blood in urine. Concerned about this the doctor persisted in seeing a urologist, a specialist who deals in disorders related to male and female urinary tract as well as the male reproductive system. On visiting the urologist this man came to know that he had a fairly big and aggressive bladder cancer.  From this scenario, it can be observed that sometimes it requires a specialist to recognize a problem. But how does one know when to see a urologist?

Below are some of the situations when one should consider visiting a urologist immediately.

Testicular Pain or Mass

If you are experiencing severe pain in the testes or can feel an extra tumour like growth you must consult a urologist immediately. It might sometimes be just an inflammation or an infection but it’s better to be sure as a cancerous tumour will need immediate action. It has been noticed that sadly, many men with testicular cancer go undiagnosed for several months before they are referred to a urologist.

Blood in the urine

Blood in the urine also referred to as hematuria, is one more reason to see a urologist, even if blood is seen only once in urine and never again, either blood that you can see or that has been seen in a laboratory during a urine test. This is a serious concern and should never be ignored as the body might be giving signs to the underlying problem related to the kidney or bladder. As the proverb says a ‘stitch in time saves nine’, be alert and visit the specialist doctor at your earliest.

Urinary Retention

This is a situation when a person is not able to urinate, then they must see a urologist evaluate if this is a long-standing problem that needs to be treated or a short term problem that will get better within a week or two with the help of a drainage catheter to let the bladder heal and supported with medication to relax the prostate.

Kidney stones

Kidney stones are one more reason to consult a urologist. Although a lot of doctors can treat the pain of the stone as it passes, only urologists are qualified in the advanced techniques to nonsurgically or surgically remove the stones, either in the kidney, the ureter or the urinary bladder.

Kidney masses or tumors

This is a case that always has to be evaluated by a urologist. In the past, it was common for a doctor to find a mass on a patient’s kidney and have radiologists simply biopsy the lesion. Doing this has the risk of either missing out the cancer or helps the cancer cells to spread. Today with the help of advanced technology urologists can identify the mass with noninvasive tests. Advances in laparoscopy have totally revolutionized kidney cancer care.

Prostate Cancer

In the case of Prostate Cancer urologists are the only specialists qualified to direct and recommend a variety of possible treatments to include observation, radiation, chemotherapy, as well as provide hormone therapy or curative surgery.

Male infertility

Male infertility is on the rise due to various factors and requires a complex examination and testing again, in this case, one needs to consult a urologist. Normally there are various underlying problems and so the infertility is correctable when the problem is treated.  In other cases, more advanced techniques are required to correct the problem such as varicocele which is a collection of veins in the scrotum. For further challenging issues, various treatments like the microsurgical reconstruction of the vas or sperm retrieval from testis or epididymis can be done.

So if you come across any of the issues mentioned, consult a urologist for the corrective management of the problem and proper treatment. Always look for the experience of the doctor and the medical team that will treat you as this ensures that you are getting proper treatment and guided properly.  We at Shrikhande IVF have Dr Anil Shrikhande who is a Urologist and Andrologist with more than 28 years experience in managing all the above conditions with the latest treatments and advance technology.

Tags: Kidney problems, Kidney stones, Male Infertility, Urologists, Urology Problems, When to See an Urologist