The foreskin is normally a fairly cooperative piece of anatomy. It moves forward, it moves backward, and for the most part it quietly gets on with its job. Phimosis occurs when the foreskin becomes too tight to comfortably pull back, or retract, over the head of the penis (glans). Think of it as a turtleneck […]
Overactive bladder can have a significant impact on everyday life. The sudden need to find a toilet, frequent trips to the bathroom, waking repeatedly at night and episodes of urinary leakage can interfere with work, travel, exercise, sleep and social activities. When bladder training, pelvic floor therapy or prescription medicines have not provided adequate relief—or […]
Urinary incontinence and bladder control problems can have a significant effect on everyday life. Frequent trips to the toilet, sudden urgency, leakage, waking repeatedly at night or being unable to empty the bladder properly can interfere with work, exercise, travel, sleep and social activities. For men and women whose symptoms have not responded adequately to […]
Benign prostate enlargement, also called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is extremely common as men get older. An enlarged prostate can narrow the urinary channel and affect the way the bladder empties, producing what doctors call lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Typical symptoms include: A slow or weak urinary stream Difficulty starting urination Stopping and starting […]
A ureteric stent is a thin, flexible tube placed inside the ureter, the channel that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder. Stents are commonly used in urology to maintain drainage of urine from the kidney when the ureter is blocked, narrowed, injured or at risk of becoming obstructed. Most ureteric stents are intended […]
A prostate biopsy is the definitive test used to determine whether abnormal prostate cells are cancerous. Modern biopsy techniques have changed significantly. Rather than routinely passing biopsy needles through the rectum, prostate tissue can now be sampled through the skin of the perineum, the small area between the scrotum and anus. The TP Pivot Pro™ […]
Preparing the Pelvic Floor for Recovery Urinary leakage is one of the most common concerns men have when preparing for prostate surgery, particularly radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. Fortunately, urinary control usually improves progressively after surgery, and pelvic floor rehabilitation can play an important role in helping men regain continence. Pelvic floor rehabilitation is more […]
Being diagnosed with prostate cancer does not always mean that treatment needs to start immediately. Many prostate cancers grow very slowly and may never cause symptoms or threaten a man’s life. For carefully selected men, active surveillance allows the cancer to be closely monitored while avoiding, or at least delaying, treatments such as surgery or […]
Understanding Robotic Prostate Cancer Surgery A diagnosis of prostate cancer brings with it several important decisions. For men with cancer that is confined to the prostate, or selected cancers that have extended just beyond it, radical prostatectomy remains an established curative treatment option. Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is a minimally invasive approach in which the […]
Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Australian men. One of the difficulties with prostate cancer is that early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms. By the time symptoms develop, some cancers may already have progressed beyond the prostate. A simple blood test called the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test can help […]