Urology in Enfield

Our consultant urologists are able to offer comprehensive assessments of urological problems for men, women, adults and children. Booking with Kings Oak Hospital for Urology treatment guarantees patient focused care.

Our urology department prides itself on our professional yet friendly outlook for our patients. As a patient you will be able to book without waiting lists and will be given the time and personalised service you require to discuss your symptoms and concerns.

Our consultants will develop a treatment plan that addresses your specific needs whether your condition is best suited to non surgical or surgical management. Our urology team communicates efficiently with other departments and clinicians regarding diagnostic planning and treatments to allow our patients to access our full range of services in a timely manner.

We offer a full range of diagnostic tests for patients following an expert initial consultation and can offer a comprehensive range of medical, lifestyle and surgical treatment services for our patients as their situation dictates.  

Urology is often thought of as being exclusively about men's health. Although, this aspect of healthcare can be covered, urologists also see medical problems in women. Thus, a more appropriate way of describing this medical specialty is that urology covers conditions of the urinary tract in men and women (as well as in adults and children).

Urology encompasses a large range of conditions. These cover congenital conditions that children are born with. Examples include undescended testes and tight foreskins. Another category includes conditions which develop; Metabolic conditions such as kidney stones or urinary tract stones are examples.

Unfortunately, urology also deals with lots of cancers. As a medical specialty, urology deals with three of the top ten most common cancers in the UK. Prostate, bladder, and kidney cancer all tend to be more prevalent in the elderly population. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and as such is screened for across medicine but dealt with once diagnosed under the care of a consultant urologist.

Consultant urologists also offer expertise in the treatment of lifestyle issues such as urinary incontinence in men and women and erectile dysfunction in men as they get older. A further condition which is seen in increasing numbers is symptoms associated with prostate enlargement (Benign Prostate Hyperplasia). About sixty per cent of men in their seventies have it which can lead to certain bladder symptoms such as stream or flow issues when urinating. Often this condition is managed with the help of GPs with appropriate medication. However, a consultant urologist may be needed for initial diagnosis and management for an assessment to see whether a patient may require some sort of surgical procedure.

Due to the large range of conditions treated by consultant urologists and their teams, this specialty offers a similar range of treatments including education regarding lifestyle intervention where appropriate, medicines (pharmacology management) as well as some surgical procedures.

Depending on the clinical scenario and due to the anatomy being dealt with, consultant urologists often utilize technology in many of the procedures they offer. Keyhole surgery (termed a laparoscopy) and endoscopic surgery involves placing a tiny tube down the urethra (urinary tract) to access relevant anatomy. Depending on the surgery, robots are increasingly used to assist with the precision cutting required for complex surgeries. Studies have demonstrated robotic assisted procedures to increase surgical precision and cut overall surgery time benefitting the doctor and patient. Urological procedures will also use lasers to provide the energy for cutting procedures such as prostatectomies and nephrectomies  

Due to the significant heterogeneity of symptoms and conditions a consultant urologist deal with, the foundation of an initial consultation will be to obtain a thorough history of the symptoms. This will include any previous medical history as well as onset of symptoms and duration and the location, quality and intensity of symptoms when they occur. Some patients may attend with established symptoms and diagnosis so any previous treatments are important information. Further diagnostics will be aimed at investigating each specific presentation, but common examples include: 

• Blood tests are routinely tested for our Urology patients. Depending on a patient’s clinical presentation we may check a full blood count, markers of inflammation and kidney function tests including the levels of urea and electrolytes. If a patient may have prostate symptoms a blood test known as the prostate specific antigen (PSA) may be requested; It is important that the results of this blood test are interpreted by an expert along with a comprehensive assessment of other tests as although PSA test may indicate a problem it yields many false positives in men as they age.
• A urine test will be routinely assessed for traces of blood in the urine or infections.
• For certain patients a consultant Urologist may request an ultrasound scan. This may include an external abdominal ultrasound assessment of the kidneys to look for swelling, lumps, kidney stones, and an assessment of the volume of the bladder before and after a patient has urinated, to see how well the bladder is emptying.
• Urination flow rate may also be assessed. This is achieved by a patient urinating into a bucket with a transducer, so we are able to see what the flow is like and assess how well the bladder's emptying. In some cases, this may well lead onto a cystoscopy, which is a telescope inspection of the bladder performed under local aesthetic.
• CT scans of the urinary tract may be requested if there are certain symptoms, particularly if there is a history of blood in the urine, an understandably alarming symptoms for patients.
• Magnetic Resonance Scans, normally referred to as MRI scans are often requested to examine the structure of the prostate in detail where clinically indicated.  

Our Kings Oak Urology unit sees patients without delay whether they have self referred due to concerning symptoms or with a GP referral letter for a known diagnosis or for further tests. Our consultants offer a personalized service to each of our patients and thorough discussion to evaluate our patient’s symptoms and concerns form the basis of our planned care.

Diagnostic tests are requested immediately following consultation and our consultant urology teamwork in a multidisciplinary manner with other hospital specialists including Kings Oak radiology consultants to deliver streamlined care.

Once a treatment pathway has been planned, we are able to offer a full range of endoscopic urology surgery including treatments for enlarged prostates, kidney stones, circumcisions, and scrotal lumps as well as cysts, and hydrocele (a swelling around the testicle).  We also treat epididymal cysts as well as vasectomy and vasectomy reversals as patient’s wishes dictate.

Post procedure, Kings Oak urology patients are able to recover in their own private room with the help of our recovery and specialist nurses as they require.