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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staff
Cystoscopy is used to diagnose, monitor and treat conditions affecting the bladder and urethra. Common reasons your doctor may recommend a cystoscopy include:
- Investigating causes of bladder signs and symptoms. Cystoscopy may help your doctor learn the causes of signs and symptoms such as blood in the urine, frequent urinary tract infections, incontinence, overactive bladder and painful urination.
- Diagnosing bladder and urinary tract diseases and conditions. A cystoscopy may be used in diagnosing bladder cancer, bladder stones and bladder inflammation (cystitis).
- Treating bladder diseases and conditions. Special tools can be passed through the cystoscope to treat a bladder disease or condition. For instance, very small bladder tumors may be removed during cystoscopy.
- Diagnosing an enlarged prostate. A cystoscopy may reveal a narrowing of the urethra where it passes through the prostate gland, indicating an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia).
In certain cases, your doctor may conduct a procedure called ureteroscopy to examine your urinary tract beyond your bladder at the same time as your cystoscopy. Ureteroscopy uses a smaller scope to examine your ureters — the tubes that carry urine from your kidneys to your bladder.
