Urology

Mayo Clinic Pediatric Urology sees children in Rochester, Minnesota. Diagnosis and specialty care is offered for a wide range of developmental problems affecting the kidneys, bladder, urethra or genital tract. For example, commonly seen conditions include:

• Bladder exstrophy
• Cloacal anomalies
• Hernias
• Hydronephrosis (kidney dilation, detected prenatally or in childhood)
• Hypospadias (urine passage ending short of the end of the penis)
• Intersex (incomplete or otherwise abnormal development of the genital organs)
• Kidney stones
• Neurogenic bladder from spinal cord lesions, such as myelomeningocele
• Re-do urology surgery
• Rhabdomyosarcoma of the genitourinary system
• Testicular tumors
• Undescended testicles
• Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (blockage of urine flow from the kidneys)
• Vesicoureteral reflux (backup of urine from the bladder toward the kidneys)
• Wilms tumor and other kidney tumors in children

Team approach, tailored to your child's needs

Using an integrated practice model, Mayo Clinic Pediatric Urology coordinates care across specialties to develop treatment plans specific to each child.

Your Pediatric Urology team will fully evaluate your child, review records, order any needed tests, make recommendations regarding therapy and include various members of our pediatric subspecialist network.

Pediatric Urology offers a wide range of expertise, including:

• A dedicated, fellowship trained and board certified pediatric urologist, who evaluates your child's urologic issue and provides a holistic view of your child's needs and family goals to create an individualized plan of care
• A pediatric nurse practitioner, who works alongside our urologists to assess patients, order appropriate testing when indicated, and create care plans.
• A clinical pediatric nurse, who assists your child and family in understanding, coordinating and implementing the treatment plan
• A pediatric pelvic floor physical therapist to help children with urinary control problems

Depending on your child's needs, other team members may include:

• Pediatric subspecialists
• Dietitians
• Gastroenterologists (for digestive disorders, including Motility Clinic)
• Hematologists and oncologists (for children with urologic cancer or tumors)
• Medical geneticists (for disorders and diseases involving genes and heredity)
• Nephrologists (for medical kidney disorders, including kidney stones)
• Neurologists (for nervous system disorders)
• Orthopedists
• Otorhinolaryngologists (for ears, nose and throat or ENT conditions)
• Physiatrists (for physical medicine and rehabilitation issues)
• Physical/occupational therapists
• Psychologists (for concerns related to emotional and mental health)
• Pulmonologists (for lung conditions and diseases)
• Sleep medicine experts (for sleep-related disorders)
• Social workers

Latest treatments and technology

Mayo Clinic has long been a destination for parents seeking answers and the best treatment for their children's medical conditions. These are just a few of the approaches that are transforming medical care for children with urological issues:

• 3D Printing Lab: Pediatric radiologists create 3D models of complex anatomy from CT scans and MRI scans in order to help surgeons plan their approach.
• Fertility Preservation Program for children: The only such program in the region, the program provides an additional option for children with cancer or other medical conditions that could affect their future fertility. These options are for post-pubertal and pre-pubertal children. Our physicians will respond to requests within a three-hour time frame.
• Minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery.
• Fetal surgery: For unborn babies with spina bifida and lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO), Mayo Clinic maternal and fetal medicine, pediatric neurosurgery, and other physicians work as a team to assess and provide expert surgical and other care.

• Multidisciplinary care for children with pediatric urology tumors such as Wilms tumor or rhabdomyosarcoma.
• Multidisciplinary care of spina bifida and spinal cord injury patients.
• Proton beam therapy: Children with cancer stand to benefit the most from proton beam therapy, and conversely can suffer the greatest long-term harm from conventional radiation therapy since their organs are still developing.
• Surgery under spinal anesthesia (in certain cases).
• The Healthy Elimination Program: A child-friendly approach that integrates innovative pediatric pelvic floor therapy to help families deal with bedwetting, constipation, daytime incontinence, fecal incontinence (encopresis) and other related issues.

Top-ranked center

Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester, Minnesota, is one of the top-ranked centers in the U.S. for pediatric urology. These rankings, by U.S. News & World Report, are based on surgical survival, parent and family involvement, clinical research, and recommendations by pediatric urologists across the nation.

The Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets strict standards for a National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center, recognizing scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Mayo Clinic is a member of the Children's Oncology Group. This large collaboration among hospitals gives children access to clinical trials that offer the latest in treatments for childhood cancers.

Level 1 Children's Surgery Center

Mayo Clinic Children's Center is a Level 1 Children's Surgery Center, the highest verification awarded by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This distinction recognizes the surgical excellence of our multispecialty teams — including surgeons, anesthesiologists, physicians, nurses and more — who meet or exceed ACS criteria for quality of care for newborns, babies, children, and teenage surgical patients.

Diagnostic and Treatment resources available at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota

Mayo Clinic has long been a destination for parents seeking answers and the best treatment for their children's urologic conditions. These are just a few of the approaches that are transforming medical care for these children:

Pediatric urodynamics

These tests allow your doctor to evaluate the pressures and contractions of your child's bladder and sphincter muscles.

Pediatric radiology

Mayo Clinic has full pediatric radiology capabilities including CT scan, MRI, DMSA, cystogram, urethrogram, ultrasound and other nuclear medicine tests.

Proton beam therapy

Proton beam therapy expands Mayo Clinic's cancer care capabilities. In properly selected patients — especially children and young adults and those with cancers located close to critical organs and body structures — proton beam therapy is an advance over traditional radiotherapy.

Research: Active clinical studies

This group is active in clinical studies related to pediatric urological issues. These include National Institutes of Health-funded as well as other funded trials underway in diseases involving the kidneys, bladder, urethra or genital tract. Current areas of research include:

• Penile and primary bladder reconstruction for the surgical repair of classical bladder exstrophy
• Individualized care of patients with solitary and metastatic genitourinary tumors using the patient's own tumor to test effective chemotherapy and other treatment agents
• Individualized 3D reconstruction of patients' conditions for surgical planning
• Tissue engineering
• Fertility outcomes in patients treated for childhood cancers

Related Videos

Hypospadias

View Mayo Clinic Pediatric Urology videos on YouTube