As a parent, you understand that conditions affecting your child’s kidney, bladder, or reproductive health are not just the standard childhood illnesses. These conditions can affect your child’s life into adulthood. At WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s, we know you want the best care available for your child.
Your child will receive compassionate, advanced care for urological conditions affecting the:
- Adrenal glands
- Bladder
- External and internal genitalia
- Kidneys
- Pelvic floor
- Ureter
- Urethra
Pediatric Urology at WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s is the only pediatric urology practice in West Virginia. We treat patients from infancy to the age of 18. Our experienced fellowship-trained doctors and medical professionals are recognized by U.S. News & World Report.
Conditions We Treat
Our specialists provide treatment for conditions such as:
- Hydrocele – common in newborns and occurs when there is swelling in the scrotum caused by fluid that collects in the thin sheath surrounding a testicle
- Hypospadias — the urethra opens on the underside of the penis instead of the tip
- Kidney, bladder, and testicular cancer
- Kidney and bladder stones
- Lower urinary tract symptoms – urinary frequency, urgency, and incontinence
- Neurogenic bladder — uncontrolled bladder from neurological conditions like spina bifida
- Nocturnal enuresis – bedwetting
- Posterior urethral valve — blockage affecting newborn boys
- Prenatal hydronephrosis — kidney swelling from urine build-up
- Undescended testicles – testicles not down in the scrotum
- Ureteropelvic junction obstruction — partial kidney blockage
- Ureterocele – dilation of the ureter inside the bladder
- Urinary tract infections
- Varicocele – enlarged veins in the scrotum
- Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) — urine flows backward from the bladder to the kidneys
Treatments and Services
We offer comprehensive, minimally invasive, robotic, and open surgical treatment options that ensure your child has the best outcome. Procedures include:
Minimally invasive surgery
- Cystoscopy – scope of the bladder
- Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy — uses sound waves to treat kidney stones
- Ureterorenoscopy with laser lithotripsy — uses a laser to remove urinary tract stones
- Percutaneous nephrolithotomy — uses a small telescope to remove large kidney stones through the patient’s back.
- Microscopic varicocelectomy — treats enlarged scrotal veins
- Deflux injection for vesicoureteral reflux — an alternative to open surgery that uses a gel called deflux to prevent backward flow of urine to the kidneys
Robotic and laparoscopic surgery
We use da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery or laparoscopic surgery, which uses small incisions, in place of open surgery whenever possible, to reduce pain and shorten hospital stays for these procedures:
- Appendicovesicostomy — Mitrofanoff surgery, uses the appendix as a bridge to the bladder to help children catheterize easily and independently
- Malone antegrade continence enema — facilitates fecal evacuation
- Nephrectomy — kidney removal
- Orchidopexy — moves an undescended testicle into the scrotum
- Pyeloplasty —repair of a ureter obstruction near the kidney
- Ureteral reimplantation —treats vesicoureteral reflux or a ureter obstruction near the bladder
- Varicocelectomy — treats enlarged scrotal veins
Open surgery
Some conditions may require open surgery to ensure the best result. These include:
- Bladder augmentation to help symptoms in some patients with neurogenic bladder
- Genital and urinary organ reconstruction
- Hydrocelectomy (removal of a fluid-filled sac in the scrotum)
- Hypospadias to correct an abnormal urethra opening
- Orchiopexy to move an undescended testicle into the scrotum
- Meatoplasty to enlarge a narrowed penis opening
- Pyeloplasty to repair a ureter obstruction near the kidney
Outpatient and educational clinics
We offer outpatient and educational clinics at various times and locations:
- General pediatric urology clinic — 8 am- 4 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Dysfunctional voiding and bedwetting clinic — Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
- Spina bifida clinic — fourth Monday of each month
- Metabolic disorder/stone clinic (with nephrology) — Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Outreach/satellite clinic in Wheeling Hospital — fourth Tuesday of each month
- Prenatal/fetal urology counseling – Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Telemedicine clinics in Charleston, Martinsburg, Princeton, Vienna, and Wheeling — Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
- After-hours clinic — 4 pm- 6 pm first Tuesday of each month
- Disorder of sexual development clinic— Tuesdays and Thursdays
Resources
These resources can help you and your child learn more about urological conditions:
- KidsHealth
- Healthy Children - Learn what a pediatric urologist does.
- MedlinePlus - Find information on children’s urological conditions from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.