Urodynamics Testing

Dr. Herman and Dr. Kester, top South Florida urologists, serving the Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Palm Beach areas, use State-Of-The-Art, In-House Diagnostic Tools and Treatments to determine the problem and begin treatment immediately. Contact us immediately to schedule an appointment.

Urodynamics testing allows us to look at how your lower urinary tract works.

Your lower urinary tract includes the bladder (which stores urine) and the urethra (which is the tube that carries urine from your bladder to the outside). In a male with a prostate the test also assess any functional abnormality in your prostate and how it may contribute to your symptoms.

Urodynamics helps identify specific problems related to:

• Controlling your urine and any type of urinary incontinence
• Not emptying your bladder completely
• Feeling of frequent and/or urgent need to urinate
• Weak or intermittent (Stopping and starting) urine flow
• Frequent urinary tract infections
• Voiding at night

Urologists have used urodynamics for many years to better understand and treat voiding problems in patients, especially those with complaints of urgency, frequency, nocturia, and incontinence. In men it is very important to differentiate between a bladder problem or a prostate problem. Without urodynamics it is at times impossible to discern when the patient’s symptoms are truly related to his prostate. Very often in addition to a prostate problem we have also found coexisting bladder instability. Voiding symptoms, even in women are very often not clear. Therefore, urodynamics play a necessary role in the proper diagnosis in all cases of voiding dysfunction.

The medical community at large has seen many patients who have been sent for prostate surgery and the patient still complains that they are not any better following the surgery. Women as well will be put on medications, and their symptoms will not significantly improve. Rather than giving medicine in a haphazard way, we at Urology Center of Florida utilize urodynamic studies to better diagnose the voiding problem and more effectively, treat the patient’s condition. Patients with many medical conditions, including but not limited to Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, CVA, and Parkinsons can often have associated voiding dysfunction and urodynamics will play an essential role in proper diagnosis and treatment.

There are two main phases of bladder function: the filling (storage) phase and the emptying (voiding) phase. Bladder dysfunction is often considered as a failure to store urine or a failure to empty urine. Common causes for incontinence (a failure to store urine) are most often an overactive bladder detrusor muscle and/or an incompetent urethral sphincter mechanism. Causes for retention (a failure to empty) include bladder neck or urethral obstruction, a non-relaxing urethral sphincter and/or a non-contractile detrusor muscle.

Call us immediately to schedule an appointment with Dr. Herman or Dr. Kester for the relief you deserve.