Diagnosis and Treatment for Male Pelvic Health Conditions

UChicago Medicine patients benefit from one of the most experienced imaging teams in the country.

Some of our services include:

• Computed tomography of the pelvis, which uses X-rays to create cross-sections of the body
• Cystoscopy, a procedure to look inside the bladder using a tiny camera
• Urodynamics, a series of tests to provide information about the function of bladder and urinary muscles
• Ultrasound, which uses sound waves to view the anatomy in the pelvis or anus
• Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging, which uses magnets to create detailed pictures of the body
• Anoscopy, in which a small instrument is inserted into the anus to check the anal canal
• Anorectal manometry, which checks the muscles that keep stool inside the body
• Defecography, which shows how much stool the rectum can hold, how well it can hold it and how well it can empty it

Many pelvic floor disorders can be treated successfully without surgery. For this reason, strategies such as behavior changes, physical therapy and medication are often the first approach for many patients.

When symptoms fail to improve with nonsurgical treatment, our experienced surgeons can often relieve symptoms with surgery. Some of these procedures can be performed using minimally invasive techniques.The benefits of minimally invasive surgery include:

• Less pain
• Less injury to tissue
• Minimal scarring
• Less blood loss
• Faster return to normal activities

In fact, many patients who have these less invasive procedures can go home the same day.

Some of the surgical treatments available include:

• Urethral bulking, which involves injections to reduce urine leakage
• Anal bulking, which uses injections to reduce fecal leakage
• Midurethral slings, which are small mesh slings placed under the urethra to help prevent stress incontinence in women and men
• An artificial sphincter, an implanted device that keeps the urethra closed until men are able to urinate

Our high-volume center draws expertise from one of the top urology practices in the country. Our urology team can help men who may suffer from incontinence related to treatment for prostate, bladder or kidney cancer.

Our nationally recognized gastroenterology and colorectal surgery team has a longstanding reputation for their treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Some IBD patients require pelvic floor testing to determine the best treatment approach. In addition, these colorectal surgeons have performed more than 1,000 surgeries on patients with a range of digestive and pelvic floor conditions.