Advanced Treatments to Improve Your Bladder Health
Are you constantly running to the bathroom, even during the middle of the night? Do you have trouble emptying your bladder? Virtua Health urologists offer care for all types of bladder conditions, including urinary tract infections (UTI), incontinence, urgency, frequency, and cancer. Our team uses the latest minimally invasive approaches to diagnosing and treating bladder issues.
According to the National Institutes of Health, signs of a bladder problem can include:
- Inability to hold urine or leaking urine (urinary incontinence)
- Needing to urinate eight or more times in one day
- Waking up many times at night to urinate
- Sudden and urgent need to urinate
- Pain or burning before, during, or after urinating
- Cloudy or bloody urine
- Passing only small amounts of urine after strong urges to urinate
- Trouble starting or having a weak stream while urinating
- Trouble emptying the bladder
Urinary Incontinence
Both women and men can develop urinary incontinence. Women may get it due to weakening of the pelvic floor muscles or neurologic control of the bladder. In men, problems in urinary function are often linked to prostate enlargement. Conditions such as stroke, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis can also be contributing factors.
Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancers are classified (staged) by how deeply they invade into the bladder wall, which has several layers. Superficial bladder cancer is limited to the innermost linings of the bladder. Invasive bladder cancer penetrates the muscular layer of the bladder wall. Types of bladder cancer include:
- Transitional cell carcinoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Adenocarcinoma
Virtua Health offers individualized plans to treat bladder cancer. Interdisciplinary teams of board-certified, fellowship-trained urologic oncologists and advanced practice nurses provide expert treatment, education, and support for you and your family.
Surgery is a common treatment option for people who have bladder cancer. The clinical staff at the Penn Medicine | Virtua Cancer Program includes surgeons specially trained in pelvic surgery and reconstruction techniques that help to improve surgical outcomes and minimize the potential effects of surgery to this sensitive area of the body. Our program also has outpatient chemotherapy and infusion centers at Virtua Marlton, Virtua Mount Holly, Virtua Voorhees, Virtua Willingboro and Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes hospitals.
