When should your child see a pediatric urologist?

When your child is in pain or experiencing significant discomfort and you don’t know exactly why, it can be heartbreaking.

When their symptoms are caused by a complication with their kidney, bladder, urinary tract, or genitalia, it can be particularly difficult to pinpoint or get them to even talk about.

Pediatric urologists have specialized training in diagnosing and treating urinary tract and genital organ problems in infants, children, and teens.

We help our young patients and their parents deal with everything from bedwetting to kidney stones and urinary tract infections to inguinal hernias.

Pediatric urology conditions we treat

• Inguinal hernias, or bulges of abdominal contents.
• Hydroceles, which are fluid collections around the testicle.
• Hydronephrosis/hydroureter (Extra fluid visible in kidneys or ureter). While this sounds scary, 90% of cases in newborns are mild and go away on their own.
• Ureteropelvic junction obstruction, which is the most common cause of a blocked kidney and is often treated with minimally invasive surgery with overnight hospital stay.
• Hypospadias, which is abnormal development of the penis and urinary opening urethral opening in boys.
• Kidney stones, which are becoming increasingly common in children.
• Neurogenic bladder, which is reduced bladder control due to a brain, spinal cord, or nerve problem.
• Recurrent urinary tract infections.
• Vesicoureteral reflux, which is abnormal flow of urine from your bladder back to the kidneys.
• Undescended testes and retractile testes.
• Circumcision-related issues. (This includes getting circumcised if it wasn’t possible right after birth.)

For parents, it can be stressful to learn your child might need to see a pediatric urologist, but it doesn’t automatically mean something is terribly wrong or that pediatric urology surgery will be necessary. Your child might be referred because of a finding during an imaging test, and it turns out to be minor. Or your child could be referred for surgery, but it turns out surgery is not necessary.

Though we are expert surgeons, less than half of our patients need surgery. Even if your child does need surgery, the vast majority we perform are outpatient surgeries or with an overnight observation.

Our providers are skilled at putting children and families at ease and understanding discomfort and pain that they may not be able to easily explain. The Children’s Health Child Life specialists provide age-appropriate patient information and support services for the whole family especially with imaging tests in the radiology department.

UTSW is one of a few centers in the region to offer prenatal care for urologic conditions, counseling pregnant mothers whose babies are suspected to have or have been diagnosed with a congenital urologic condition before they are born.

What to expect when seeing a pediatric urologist

Following a discussion about your child’s medical history, prior testing, and symptoms, we will do a physical examination. From there, we’ll decide with you whether to proceed with any testing to help make a diagnose or rule out issues. Sometimes, based on the history and prior evaluation, we will schedule further imaging to try to facilitate your child’s care.

Children’s Health is the only program in the area to offer ultrasound cystogram, a bladder imaging study, in addition to fluoroscopic cystogram and the full spectrum of imaging options that pediatric urologists use. Ultrasound does not use radiation, so you can safely stay with your child throughout the ultrasound cystogram, which may be more comfortable for your child. Child life specialists in the Children’s Health radiology department are trained to help alleviate children’s fears when undergoing such tests.

At the end of the visit, we will thoroughly explain your child’s condition, often using drawings to help explain. We’ll discuss potential treatment options including risks and benefits of each, and answer all your questions so you can make an informed, confident decision.