What are the different types of urology procedures?

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Comprehensive List of Urological Procedures

Urological procedures encompass a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions addressing conditions of the urinary tract and male reproductive system, with approaches ranging from minimally invasive techniques to complex reconstructive surgeries 1.

Oncological Procedures

Prostate Cancer

  • Diagnostic procedures:

    • Prostate biopsy (transrectal or transperineal)
    • MRI-guided prostate biopsy
    • Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing
  • Treatment procedures:

    • Radical prostatectomy (open, laparoscopic, or robot-assisted)
    • Brachytherapy (seed implantation)
    • Focal therapy options

Bladder Cancer

  • Diagnostic procedures:

    • Cystoscopy for hematuria evaluation
    • Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT)
    • Second-look TURBT for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer
  • Treatment procedures:

    • Radical cystectomy with urinary diversion
    • Intravesical therapy (BCG or chemotherapy installations)
    • Partial cystectomy

Kidney Cancer

  • Diagnostic procedures:

    • Renal tumor biopsy (RTB)
  • Treatment procedures:

    • Radical nephrectomy (open, laparoscopic, or robot-assisted)
    • Partial nephrectomy (nephron-sparing surgery)
    • Thermal ablation techniques (cryotherapy, radiofrequency ablation)

Other Urological Cancers

  • Radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma
  • Orchiectomy for testicular cancer
  • Post-chemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND)
  • Penile cancer surgery (partial or total penectomy with lymph node dissection)
  • Adrenalectomy for adrenal tumors

Stone Disease Procedures

  • Diagnostic procedures:

    • CT urography
    • Ultrasound imaging
  • Treatment procedures:

    • Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL)
    • Ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy
    • Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL)
    • Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS)
    • Ureteral stent placement or exchange
    • Nephrostomy tube placement

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) Procedures

  • Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP)
  • Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP)
  • Photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP)
  • Prostatic urethral lift (UroLift)
  • Water vapor thermal therapy (Rezūm)
  • Simple prostatectomy (open or robot-assisted)

Functional Urology and Reconstructive Procedures

  • Upper tract reconstruction:

    • Pyeloplasty for ureteropelvic junction obstruction
    • Ureteral reimplantation
    • Ileal ureter replacement
    • Ureteroureterostomy
  • Lower tract reconstruction:

    • Urethral stricture repair (urethroplasty)
    • Vesicovaginal fistula repair
    • Bladder augmentation
    • Continent urinary diversion (Mitrofanoff procedure)
    • Artificial urinary sphincter placement

Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Procedures

  • Mid-urethral sling procedures
  • Sacral neuromodulation
  • Botulinum toxin bladder injections
  • Pelvic organ prolapse repair
  • Bladder neck suspension

Andrology and Male Infertility Procedures

  • Varicocelectomy
  • Vasectomy and vasovasostomy (reversal)
  • Testicular sperm extraction (TESE)
  • Penile prosthesis implantation
  • Peyronie's disease procedures (plication or grafting)
  • Priapism management (shunting procedures)

Pediatric Urology Procedures

  • Hypospadias repair
  • Orchiopexy for undescended testes
  • Posterior urethral valve ablation
  • Vesicoureteral reflux correction
  • Surgery for duplex kidneys
  • Exstrophy-epispadias complex repair

Transplantation Procedures

  • Kidney transplantation (living or deceased donor)
  • Renal allograft removal

Minimally Invasive Techniques

  • Laparoscopic approaches:

    • Standard multi-port laparoscopy
    • Single-port laparoscopy
    • Hand-assisted laparoscopy
  • Robot-assisted procedures:

    • Da Vinci robotic system procedures
    • Senhance robotic system procedures 2
  • Advanced imaging techniques:

    • Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence-guided surgery
    • Fusion imaging-guided procedures

Emergency Urological Procedures

  • Management of testicular torsion
  • Priapism decompression
  • Paraphimosis reduction
  • Penile/urethral trauma repair
  • Bladder perforation repair
  • Renal trauma management
  • Fournier's gangrene debridement
  • Infected implant removal

Perioperative Considerations

  • Urinary drainage with transurethral catheters and ureteral stents
  • Surgical site drainage with perianastomotic drains
  • Multimodal analgesia including thoracic epidural analgesia
  • Prevention of postoperative ileus with multimodal approaches
  • Careful fluid management and thromboprophylaxis 3

Urological procedures have evolved significantly over time, with a trend toward minimally invasive approaches that offer reduced morbidity while maintaining oncological and functional outcomes 4. The choice of procedure depends on patient factors, disease characteristics, and surgeon expertise, with the goal of optimizing morbidity, mortality, and quality of life outcomes.

References

Guideline

Guideline Directed Topic Overview

Dr.Oracle Medical Advisory Board & Editors, 2025

Guideline

Perioperative Care Guidelines

Praxis Medical Insights: Practical Summaries of Clinical Guidelines, 2025

Research

[Review of upper urinary modified minimal invasive surgical technology].

Beijing da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Peking University. Health sciences, 2019

Professional Medical Disclaimer

This information is intended for healthcare professionals. Any medical decision-making should rely on clinical judgment and independently verified information. The content provided herein does not replace professional discretion and should be considered supplementary to established clinical guidelines. Healthcare providers should verify all information against primary literature and current practice standards before application in patient care. Dr.Oracle assumes no liability for clinical decisions based on this content.

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