Bladder Conditions

Blood in urine:

Any blood in the urine (haematuria) is taken seriously. The presence of blood may be visible (macroscopic) or non-visible (microscopic) and requires further evaluation. All visible haematuria and high risk microscopic haematuria require urine testing, a dedicated CT scan and an endoscopic camera test called a cystoscopy. There is often a benign cause for the bleeding such as a stone, infection or enlarged prostate.

Sometimes a bladder cancer is detected, and this needs to be excised by a procedure known as trans-urethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT).

Bladder cancer:

All cases of bladder cancer require an initial trans-urethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) to make a diagnosis. Further management will depend upon the depth (superficial or muscle invasive) and grade (high or low grade) of the tumour. For low grade superficial cancer, surveillance alone may be appropriate. For a high-grade superficial cancer, immunotherapy or chemotherapy is often instilled into the bladder along with more intense surveillance. Muscle-invasive disease may require a radical cystectomy where the bladder is removed, along with urinary diversion (formation of stoma or neobladder using the small bowel).

If surgery is not an option, the cancer may be treated with radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy. Dr Sethi has a particular interest in bladder and prostate cancer working with a multi-disciplinary team to deliver the world’s best care every time.