A urologist is someone who specializes in the treatment and diagnosis of the urinary system while a gynecologist is someone who specializes in the treatment and diagnosis of the female reproductive system; combine them both and you get a urogynecologist. In a nutshell, you can say that these urogynecologists can either be a urologist or an OBGYN who deals with the care of women who suffer from pelvic and urology problems. If you want to know what to expect from a urogynecologist, then read till the very end.
With urogynecologists, you can expect them to be knowledgeable in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Furthermore, they have finished additional training that helps them deal with conditions that affect the pelvic organs of the female body along with the connective tissues and muscles that support such organs. Having this training allows them to deal with the non-surgical and surgical treatment of gynecologic problems that are non-cancerous in nature that are a result of aging, menopause, or childbirth. About one of every four women have conditions that are treated by these urogynecologists. This number is more than the number of women who suffer from depression, diabetes, and hypertension.
The most common pelvic floor conditions that these urogynecologists deal with include fecal or urinary incontinence and prolapse of the vagina, uterus, or bladder. If a woman suffers from prolapse, it takes a long time for it to happen where their female organs will fall down into their pelvic area. When it comes to women suffering from prolapse, they also often suffer from incontinence. The reason being is that both conditions have been shown to result from pelvic floor damage that often happens after childbirth. Nonetheless, though childbirth is the most common risk factor, there are others that lead to such conditions. For instance, women may suffer from incontinence or prolapse due to obesity, severe constipation, chronic coughing, and heavy lifting on a daily basis.
When dealing with these conditions, urogynecologists turn to pharmacological, surgical, or behavioral methods. For most urogynecologists, they first advise their patients to change their behaviors like doing some exercises and changing their diet. Since most bladder conditions are affected by the consumption of acidic beverages and food, urogynecologists advise patients to go on a strict diet. You can expect no additional treatment to be given to you if such an intervention suffices. Another way to prevent incontinence among women that most urogynecologists will advise you will be to do some pelvic muscle exercises.
If behavioral interventions fail, urogynecologists will turn to medications or pharmacological treatment. Surgery can also be another option that these urogynecologists will advise some of their patients. Laparoscopic pelvic surgery and stress and vaginal dryness treatment are some of the most common surgical procedures being done.