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Female Urology

Female urology is a subspecialty of urology related to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases associated with the urinary tract in women. The diseases treated by a female urologist include overactive bladder, urinary incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse, among other common urological conditions. Patients should consult the best female urologists if they experience increased urination frequency, cloudy urine, recurrent urinary tract infections, blood in urine, urinary leakage, and abdominal pain.

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Diseases and conditions

  • Stress Incontinence: Stress incontinence is characterized by urine leakage during exercise, laughing, sneezing, coughing, lifting heavy objects, and performing certain activities that develop pressure in the bladder. In women, this condition occurs because of nerve and tissue damage that results in weakening of the pelvic floor muscles, or the sphincter.

Procedures and treatments

  • Medical Management of Stress Continence: Currently, no medications are approved specifically for treating stress incontinence in women. Estrogen replacement therapy did not show any efficacy in managing stress incontinence. Further, vaginal estrogen formulations can lower recurrent urinary tract infections, but their efficacy in managing stress incontinence is not proven; however, they may strengthen the vaginal tissues and muscles after menopause. There are other non-surgical management options for stress incontinence in women. Pelvic floor exercises and bladder retraining are the two most common and usually first-line treatment options. The doctor may also recommend neuromodulating devices like posterior tibial nerve stimulators in patients for whom behavioral therapy is ineffective.
  • Surgical Management of Stress Incontinence: Minimally invasive procedures are performed in patients who do not respond to non-invasive procedures. Minimally invasive procedures include the injection of periurethral bulking agents and radiofrequency denaturation of the urethra. The urologists reserve surgeries for those women for whom minimally invasive procedures cannot provide relief from urinary incontinence symptoms. The surgical procedures include urethropexy and sling procedures.

Faq's

What are the risk factors for stress incontinence?

Some of the risk factors for urinary incontinence are:

  • Age: Elderly women may have reduced muscle strength due to aging, which increases their risk of developing incontinence.
  • Body weight: Obese or overweight women are at increased risk for developing urinary incontinence due to high pressure on the pelvic and abdominal organs.
  • Child delivery: Women who have had vaginal delivery are at increased risk for developing urinary incontinence compared to women who have had a cesarean delivery.
  • History of pelvic surgery: Pelvic floor muscles support the bladder and urethra in women. However, these muscles are weaker in women who have had a hysterectomy (uterus removal). Weak muscles result in an increased risk of urinary incontinence.

What are the complications of stress incontinence?

Some of the complications of stress incontinence are:

  • Infections: Women with urinary incontinence are at increased risk of urinary tract infections.
  • Skin disorders: Urinary incontinence may result in persistent wetting of the skin, which increases the risk of skin disorders, such as rashes, sores, and skin infections.
  • Emotional distress: Women may have emotional distress due to urinary incontinence, as it may affect routine activities, sex life, and relationships.