Urology | Specialists and Information

Urology is a medical specialty that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care, and rehabilitation of diseases, functional disorders, congenital anomalies, and injuries of the male and female organs involved in urine production and excretion. This includes disorders of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra.

Urology specialists also treat diseases, congenital anomalies, and injuries of the male reproductive organs (testicles and epididymis, vas deferens, penis, and prostate).

Specialists in urology are called urologists. To be eligible to use the title “board-certified urologist,” urologists must have completed at least five years of specialized training.

At a urology clinic, aspiring urologists acquire the knowledge specified in the model training regulations of the German Medical Association, which enables urology specialists to reliably diagnose and effectively treat diseases, infections, injuries, and congenital anomalies of the male urogenital system and the female urinary tract.

They also learn to safely manage urogenital emergencies. Urology specialists work either in urology clinics or in private practice as urologists.

Men often first come into contact with a urologist during early detection of prostate cancer. But prostate cancer is not the only condition that urology specialists deal with.

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis
• Urological tumors (e.g., prostate cancer, bladder cancer, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, adrenal cancer, penile cancer)
• Erectile dysfunction and male infertility
• Vasectomy (e.g., sterilization of the vas deferens) in men, as well as family planning and sexual counseling for men and couples
• Neurourological disorders such as urinary incontinence
• Urinary stone disease and renal colic
• Congenital or acquired urological and urogenital malformations/abnormalities such as varicocele and phimosis
• Urological and urogenital inflammations and infections, such as cystitis, epididymitis, and sexually transmitted diseases
• Male menopause

Since the spectrum of urological and urogenital disorders is very broad, experts have a wide range of diagnostic options at their disposal, although some of these can often only be offered at specialized urology clinics due to the space and financial resources required.

As part of the medical history, urologists ask questions, among other things,

• about the patient’s medical history,
• current symptoms and problems, and
• the location,
• the timing of onset, and
• the severity

of the symptoms.

However, the physical examination is also of particular importance; depending on the patient’s symptoms, the experts will

• the kidneys,
• ureters and bladder,
• the penis and/or testicles, and
• if necessary, the anus or vagina

. This can be done with the fingers or hands, or with the aid of medical instruments.

Through urine and blood tests, urology specialists can detect, for example, infections, bleeding, metabolic disorders, or other conditions.

Urodynamic tests, such as

• urine flow rate measurement,
• bladder pressure measurement (cystometry),
• urethral pressure profiling, and pelvic floor EMG)

provide experts with further information about the underlying condition. Tumor markers are also measured as part of follow-up care for conditions such as prostate cancer.

Using ultrasound (e.g., transrectal ultrasound of the prostate, TRUS), urologists can detect changes in the organs that are not visible to the naked eye.

In the field of X-ray examinations, various procedures have become established for a wide range of diagnostic questions (e.g., excretory urography, voiding cystourethrography, retrograde urethrography, retrograde pyelography), some of which are quite complex and are therefore often only available at a hospital (e.g., computed tomography).

For certain conditions, urology clinics also use more advanced imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), renal scintigraphy, and positron emission tomography (PET).

An MRI scan is performed using a magnetic field @ Mark Kostich / AdobeStock

Urology clinics can usually offer the full range of services in conservative and surgical urology (urological surgery). Urological surgery, which can be performed either minimally invasively or as open surgery, includes the following surgical treatments, for example:

• Radical and organ-preserving tumor surgery for prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and testicular cancer
• Surgical treatment of female urinary incontinence
• Minimally invasive procedures for kidney stone removal
• Urological laparoscopy (abdominal endoscopy), e.g., laparoscopic prostatectomy
• Robot-assisted surgery for the removal of kidney cysts, kidney surgeries, radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, and lymph node removal
• Plastic and reconstructive surgery, e.g., ureter replacement, bladder replacement, penile implants, artificial bladder sphincter

Conservative treatments in urology include, among other things, the use of medications, for example, to treat infections and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Chemotherapy drugs are used in the treatment of cancer. The treatment of incontinence with physical therapy exercises and medication can provide relief. Kidney stones and erectile dysfunction are sometimes also treated with medication. In the treatment of male menopause, hormones are used in addition to lifestyle changes.

It is not possible to designate a single clinic as the “best clinic” or “top clinic” for urology. However, there are certainly doctors and clinics that specialize in the treatment of urological conditions and have extensive experience. You can find these urology experts in the Leading Medicine Guide.

The Leading Medicine Guide features only select, highly qualified medical experts and specialists. All listed doctors possess a high level of professional expertise, have extensive experience in the field of urology, and meet the Leading Medicine Guide’s strict admission criteria.