Before the operation The patient should stop smoking and try to get the body weight down if the patient is overweight. If the patient has knowledge of problems with his blood pressure, heart or lungs, he should ask their family doctor or the attending physician to check that these are under control. Ensure that the patient has a relative or friend who can come with him to the hospital, take him home, and look after him after the operation. Sort out any tablets, medicines, inhalers that the patient is using. Keep them in their original boxes and packets. Bring them to the hospital together with the patient. On the ward, the patient may be checked for past illnesses and may have special tests, ready for the operation. It is advised to inform the nurses of any allergies to tablets, medicines or dressings. The patient will have the operation explained to him and will be requested to fill in an operation consent form. The patient can visit for an hour or two, a few weeks or so to hospitals that run special pre-admission clinics prior to the operation.

Alternatives Performing x-rays, scans and other tests will not help discover what the trouble is. At this point in order to find out the problem it is necessary to have an examination inside the bladder and higher up towards the kidneys. The simplest step is to slide telescopes and other instruments through the front passage into the bladder and beyond. Larger operations such as passing a telescope through the skin into the kidney are not needed at this stage, in the same manner that the treatment can be done through this route. Open operations are not needed at this phase. If there is an enlargement in the bladder, burning or cutting the diseased lining away using this course is frequently all that is needed. Every now and then a drug treatment washed into the bladder is very useful. Conduct of x-ray is usually held in reserve. If the patient does nothing then no abnormalities will also be discovered. The problem will steadily get worse. Moreover, the patient will not get the benefit of early treatment, and this can be extremely important particularly if it is something like a developing cancer, which if diagnosed at an early stage could be treated and possibly cured. The tests the patient has had point to the water-works below the bladder as the cause of the trouble. It is necessary to look inside the urinary system to determine what is going on. A special telescope is used to view. At the same time narrow parts can be widened, stones taken out, pieces of the lining taken out, and diseased parts burnt out as necessary.

General Advice The operation is mostly uncomplicated, straightforward and quick. The patient should be prepared to stay in the hospital longer if needed. These notes will help the patient go through the operation. For any queries or problems better ask the doctors or nurses.