If your child has any of these symptoms, they may benefit from seeing a pediatric urology provider:

• Frequent UTIs
• Bedwetting and urinary incontinence
• Blood in the urine
• Penile pain
• Testicular pain or swelling (for severe testicular pain and swelling is an emergency — go to the nearest emergency room)
• Issues with genitals, such as undescended testicles or hypospadias

To schedule an appointment, get a referral from your child’s primary care provider or reach out to our team directly.

Our patient navigator and nurse will work with you to arrange any testing your child might need at your first appointment. We’ll also do our best to coordinate your doctor visits to minimize trips. For a kidney issue, you may be able to see a urologist and a nephrologist on the same day.

During your consultation, your pediatric urologist will ask questions to understand your child’s history and your concerns. Once we have a diagnosis, we will suggest treatment options and provide detailed parent and patient education. We believe in shared decision-making and helping you understand your child’s treatment options.

If prenatal ultrasound or other screening tests show your baby might have certain congenital anomalies like hydronephrosis, we can help. We’ll work with specialists in our Fetal Intervention Center to determine the best approach for your baby.

You don’t have to travel to a big city to get the testing your child needs. At Children’s Hospital, we offer the full range of pediatric urology tests, including:

• Blood and urine testing
• Uroflowmetry, which measures the rate of urine flow
• Urodynamic testing, including cystometrogram (CMG) to measure bladder pressure and electromyogram (EMG) to check pelvic floor muscles during urination
• Abdominal or renal (kidney) ultrasound, which provides images of your child’s urinary tract or kidneys
• Voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG), which uses X-rays to see inside the bladder while it fills and empties
• Nuclear renal scan, which uses a small amount of radioactive material to show how the kidneys are working
• Cystoscopy, which involves threading a camera into the urethra to see inside the bladder and ureters
• CT urogram and MRI urogram, which evaluate the urinary tract (kidneys, ureters, bladder)

Many urological issues in kids don’t require surgery. Available nonsurgical treatment options include:

• Behavior adjustments, which can help manage issues like bedwetting, UTIs and other conditions. Our voiding improvement clinic specializes in helping children prevent accidents and establish a normal urinary routine.
• Medications, which can help reduce accidents, prevent UTIs and address other urinary concerns.
• Pelvic floor therapy and urinary biofeedback to help strengthen specific muscles and reduce accidents.
• Kidney dialysis for kidney failure.

Some minimally invasive, robotic-assisted and traditional “open” surgeries available for common to complex pediatric urology issues include:

• Circumcision to treat phimosis and paraphimosis
• Ureter reimplantation to treat VUR
• Orchiopexy to treat undescended testicles
• Deflux injections for vesicoureteral reflux (VUR)
• Ureteroscopy to remove kidney stones
• Pyeloplasty to repair urinary system obstruction
• Hydrocelectomy to remove a fluid-filled sac (hydrocele) in the scrotum that can cause swelling and discomfort
• Inguinal hernia repair to push bulging abdominal tissue back into place and strengthen the muscle wall using stitches or mesh
• Varicocelectomy to treat enlarged scrotal veins (varicoceles)
• Uretero-ureterostomy to remove damaged, obstructed, or strictured sections of the ureter and reconnect the healthy ends
• Ureterocele puncture to treat a cystic dilation of the lower ureter (ureteroceles) 
• Reconstructive penile surgery to correct chordee, hypospadias and other congenital conditions
• Kidney transplant for kids with end-stage kidney disease

Our kidney transplant team includes pediatric urologists, urologic surgeons, pediatric nephrologists, nurses and social workers. Together, we support your child before, during and after their transplant.