Cystoscopy

Cystoscopy may be recommended to investigate symptoms such as blood in the urine, frequent urinary tract infections, pain or burning when urinating, incontinence, or an overactive bladder. It also helps diagnose conditions such as urethral stricture, an enlarged prostate, bladder stones, or bladder lesions, and in some cases small lesions can be treated during the same procedure.

During your consultation, Dr. Bricio, urologist (Endolapv), performs a personalized evaluation: he talks with you about your symptoms, reviews your medical history and any previous studies, and determines, based on your case, whether cystoscopy is the right exam for you or whether another diagnostic option makes more sense.

Cystoscopy can be performed with a numbing gel applied to the urethra — the usual approach when the exam is purely diagnostic — or with sedation or general anesthesia if biopsies or a treatment are planned, depending on your case and your urologist's recommendation.

The urologist passes the cystoscope through the urethra into the bladder and fills the bladder with a sterile solution to expand its walls and see them in detail; feeling the urge to urinate during this part of the exam is normal. If an area needs further study, small tissue samples (biopsies) can be taken or small lesions removed during the same visit. In many cases the procedure takes about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on its purpose.

Afterward, you rest briefly under observation by the medical team. As an outpatient procedure, most patients return home the same day, and your doctor discusses the findings with you or schedules a follow-up visit to go over the results.

Before the exam, your specialist reviews your medical history and the medications and supplements you take, and may ask for a urine sample to rule out an active infection; in some cases, antibiotics are prescribed before or after the procedure.

If sedation or general anesthesia will be used, you will receive fasting instructions, and your doctor may ask you to stop medications that increase bleeding — such as blood thinners, aspirin, or ibuprofen — ahead of time, but only if your doctor instructs you to. If you smoke, it is best to avoid it in the days around the exam.

If you will receive sedation, arrange for someone to drive you home and stay with you for the rest of the day. Our team in Puerto Vallarta can help you coordinate these details — especially if you are traveling from another city or from the U.S. or Canada.

After cystoscopy, it is normal to feel burning when you urinate, notice a small amount of blood in the urine, and need to urinate more often for a day or two. Drinking plenty of water helps ease the irritation, and holding a warm, damp washcloth over the urethral area may relieve discomfort — always following your doctor's instructions.

Most patients return to their usual activities the same day or the next day; if you received sedation or general anesthesia, you will need to rest and avoid driving for the remainder of the day. Your doctor will let you know when results will be ready; if biopsies were taken, the analysis may take a few days, and next steps are reviewed with you at your follow-up visit.

Go to the emergency room right away if you develop a high fever or chills, heavy bleeding in the urine or blood clots, an inability to urinate, or pain that gets worse instead of better, and notify the doctor who performed your procedure as soon as possible.

Medical reference source: Mayo Clinic.