Often, the first sign of a urinary tract disorder comes either during a routine annual exam with your primary care doctor or when you report symptoms to your general practitioner or internist. If basic treatments, like a round of antibiotics, don’t relieve your symptoms, your doctor may then make a referral to a specialist in urology for their expert diagnosis and treatment options. The most common conditions treated by a urologist include:
- Recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs). Your primary care physician usually treats the occasional UTI, but if you frequently get these infections, you may need a urological specialist.
- Kidney stones. A kidney stone is solid material, similar to a pebble, that forms inside your kidney. Small kidney stones pass on their own, but larger stones often need to be broken up or removed by an experienced urologist.
- Bladder control problems. Your urologist determines the cause of problems with incontinence or leaking small amounts of urine. Once diagnosed, urology treatment can begin.
- Enlarged prostate. Many men experience an enlarged prostate as they age, which can cause uncomfortable symptoms, such as weak urine flow or difficulty stopping or starting urination.
- Interstitial cystitis. This common condition is characterized by long-term discomfort in your bladder and an urge to urinate frequently.
Your Downtown Brooklyn urologist also diagnoses and treats cancers of the urinary system and the male reproductive system. Some of the most common of these cancers include bladder cancer, kidney cancer and prostate cancer. The best chance of beating cancer comes through early detection.A nephrologist is a doctor who specializes in kidneys. Nephrology is a subspecialty of internal medicine, which means that nephrologists aren’t surgeons. If surgery is required on a kidney, such as removing all or part of a kidney, you need to book an appointment with a urologist.