Cystoscopy in India

What is Cystoscopy ?

Cystoscopy is endoscopy of the urinary bladder via the urethra. It is carried out with a cystoscope.

The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The cystoscope has lenses like a telescope or microscope. These lenses let the physician focus on the inner surfaces of the urinary tract. Some cystoscopes use optical fibres (flexible glass fibres) that carry an image from the tip of the instrument to a viewing piece at the other end.

Male and female urinary tracts

If a patient has a stone lodged higher in the urinary tract, the physician may use a much finer calibre scope called a ureteroscope through the bladder and up into the ureter. (The ureter is the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder). The physician can then see the stone and remove it with a small basket at the end of a wire which is inserted through an extra tube in the ureteroscope.

Test Procedures

Physicians may have special instructions, but in most cases, patients are able to eat normally and return to normal activities after the test. Patients are sometimes asked to give a urine sample before the test to check for infection. These patients should ensure that they do not urinate for a sufficient period time, such that they are able to urinate prior to this part of the test.