“I don’t need you to remind me of my age. I have a bladder to do that for me.”
— Stephen Fry
Bladder Conditions
Bladder dysfunction can have a serious impact on individual’s quality of life and can affect their ability to carry out their job and interact with people.
Bladder conditions may present with any of the following:
Overactive Bladder
Having to urinate frequently & Urinary urgency – Needing to rush to get to the toilet to urinate. It may be related to excessive coffee/ Tea, fizzy drinks etc and can be controlled by cutting back on these and undertaking bladder training. You may also require medication to relax bladder muscle.
Incontinence
Leakage of urine without any control. Usually it is small amounts but can be flooding causing embarrassing situation. The type of leakage can be either urge leak due to overactive bladder or stress leak due to weak pelvic floor/sphincter. Significant improvement can be obtained by losing weight in obese patients, and carrying out pelvic floor exercises. Wearing pads is a temporary measure and may require surgical procedures.
Urinary infection
Cystitis: More common in women due to closeness of urethra to other passages (Vagina & rectum). Preventive measures include maintaining good fluid intake, hygienic measures and emptying bladder after intercourse. Recurrent infections may require prophylactic antibiotic therapy. Conservative measures include use of Cranberry extract, D’Mannose etc.
Bladder pain
Can be due to a condition called Interstitial Cystitis. Patient get symptoms of cystitis associated with bladder pain and urine tests do not show bacteria. There may be blood in the urine and cystoscopy and biopsies may be needed for diagnosis.
Blood in the urine (haematuria)
Bladder cancer can sometimes present with this symptom and should not be ignored. Usual investigations include scans- ultrasound, CT, Urine cytology and Cystoscopy (inspection of the bladder with a telescopic instrument).
Most bladder symptoms can be treated with simple measures and medication.
Meet Our Team
-
Mr Bernard Potluri
Mr Bernard Potluri
Our Surgeon
-
Dr. Shashi Gopinath
Dr. Shashi Gopinath
Anaesthetist
-
Dr. Venkat Shenoy
Dr. Venkat Shenoy
Anaesthetist
-
Jo Nualart
Jo Nualart
Medical Secretary
-
Sharon Lambe
Sharon Lambe
Medical Secretary
Further bladder related information
Please find below links to information leaflets and questionnaires from British association of urological surgeons explaining the tests/ procedures on your bladder.
-
Bladder instillations
-
Catheter-related procedures
-
Cystoscopy (inspection of your bladder)
-
Cystoscopy with other procedures
- Bladder stone crushing (endoscopic litholapaxy) | Video
- Bladder tumour resection | Video
- Bladder washout for blood clots
- Botulinum toxin-A (Botox®) injections into the bladder wall
- Cystoscopy & retrograde studies
- Hydrodistension (stretching) of the bladder
- Stretching of the bladder neck (dilatation) in women
-
Urinary incontinence procedures
- Autologous sling procedure for stress urinary incontinence in women
- Colposuspension for stress urinary incontinence (SUI)
- Enlargement of the bladder with a piece of bowel (enterocystoplasty)
- Insertion of an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) in men
- Insertion of an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) in women
- Pelvic floor exercises (in men)
- Sacral nerve stimulation (neuromodulation)
- Synthetic mesh tape insertion (in men)
- Synthetic mesh tape insertion (in women)
- Synthetic sling procedure safety advice (external MHRA website)
- Treatment options for overactive bladder (OAB)
- Treatment options for stress urinary incontinence (SUI)
- Urethral bulking
- Vaginal fistula repair (abdominal)
- Vaginal fistula repair (vaginal)
-
Removal of your bladder
- Living with a urostomy
- Radical bladder removal with bladder replacement (in men)
- Radical bladder removal with bladder replacement (in women)
- Radical bladder removal with urinary diversion (in men)
- Radical bladder removal with urinary diversion (in women)
- Simple removal of the bladder (with urinary diversion)
- Urostomy Association (external website)
-
Urinary diversion
-
Non-procedural bladder information
- Bladder training
- Incontinence questionnaire (ICIQ-UI)
- Input/output chart (bladder diary)
- Nocturnal polyuria (passing too much urine at night)
- Overactive bladder questionnaire (ICIQ-OAB)
- Painful bladder syndrome (interstitial cystitis)
- Painful bladder syndrome questionnaire
- Self-help information for recurrent cystitis in women
- Treatment options for overactive bladder (OAB)
- Treatment options for stress urinary incontinence (SUI)
- Urinary & sexual problems following pelvic trauma
Latest bladder related news
FDA Approves First Gene Therapy for Bladder Cancer Patients with BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer had limited treatment options other than bladder removal surgery. The approval of Adstiladrin is therefore a great advance in the current treatment landscape and provides a novel treatment option.
Your bladder health is linked to your bowel health. If you have bladder leaks, you may notice they get worse when you are constipated. That’s because when you are constipated, your colon gets larger and places more pressure on your bladder. This can make you feel like you have to pass urine more urgently and…
Learn more about your bladder health and how to keep your bladder healthy! The bladder is a hollow, balloon shaped organ, and is mostly made of muscle. On average, the bladder holds about two cups of urine (about 16 ounces). When the bladder is empty it looks like a deflated balloon. The shape of a…