Medical Guides - Cystoscopy

What Is Cystoscopy?
Cystoscopy describes a procedure where your doctor can view the insides of your bladder with a special cystoscope. A cystoscope allows your doctor to illuminate and view the inside of a bladder - it is a narrow, straight, optical instrument and is inserted into the bladder via the urethra (the narrow tube that by which urine reaches the exterior). It is carried out under local anaesthesia in women, but men require general anaesthesia as the urethra in men is far longer.

When Is A Cystoscope Use?
Usually if you have a problem with your bladder - such as bladder stones, polyps (overgrowths) or possible cancer - your doctor will recommend a cystoscopic examination.

What Can It Do?
Cystoscopy allows your doctor to:

  • diagnose the problem by viewing it, without surgery.
  • start a procedure called retrograde urography - here a contrast medium is injected into the tubes leading into the kidneys - an x-ray is then taken and the film can be used for study of the urine drainage system.
  • bladder stones can be crushed using forceps passed through the cystoscope.
  • biopsies - little chunks of tissue - can be taken for study.


See also

Endoscopy

Laparoscopy

Colsposcopy

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