Advanced Care for Your Child

Advanced Care for Your Child

Urinary system conditions that affect children include kidney failure, urinary tract infections, obstructions along the urinary tract, and abnormalities at birth. These conditions can impact infants, young children, adolescents, and young adults, and disrupt their normal function, quality of life, and overall health.

The pediatric urology specialists at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital diagnose and treat children with urinary system issues and can help resolve common as well as complex conditions.

What is Pediatric Urology?

What is Pediatric Urology?

Pediatric urology is the field of medicine related to the urinary tract in children. Pediatric urologists specialize in evaluating and treating children with urinary conditions, from common urinary tract infections and urination issues to rare and complex congenital urologic disorders.

Conditions We Treat

Conditions We Treat

Our pediatric urologists and specialists treat children and adolescents with all urologic problems. We have special expertise in:

Our Approach to Pediatric Urology Care

Our Approach

The pediatric urology specialists at NewYork-Presbyterian provide all the care children need, from diagnostics to nonsurgical and surgical treatments, including treatments for common conditions such as urinary tract infections and rare conditions such as bladder and cloacal exstrophy.

As adolescents near adulthood, our pediatric urology specialists collaborate with our adult urologists to ensure a smooth transition from pediatric to adult care. NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital has a Transitional Urologist on the team to help make the change easier.

Treatments We Offer

Treatments We Offer

We offer diagnostic testing and treatments for urologic conditions ranging from bedwetting and recurring urinary tract infections to complex urinary tract issues. We treat children from birth through young adulthood, and in some cases, we begin working with families before their baby is born, when urologic issues are identified on prenatal ultrasounds.

Children's care begins with an accurate diagnosis based on comprehensive anatomy, symptoms, and function assessments. We then speak with the parents or caregiver of each child about treatment options and the most appropriate option for the child. Our specialized services include:

Minimally invasive robotic surgery

Currently, we perform many urologic surgeries using minimally invasive techniques that require only a few small incisions rather than one large incision. Our surgeons are experts in robotic surgery in children, providing an enhanced view of the surgical area and better skill with surgical instruments. Minimally invasive surgical approaches are associated with less pain and blood loss, more minor scars, and a quicker return of children to regular activities, such as school and sports.

Evaluating and treating urinary tract infections

Children with recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs) with a fever should be seen by a pediatric urologist to find out the reason for the infections. In children, particularly those under age 6, UTIs can cause kidney damage and require treatment to avoid complications. We provide all the care needed to diagnose the infection, treat it, and prevent it from happening again.

Testing for urination issues (urodynamics)

We offer specialized testing for urination issues, including tests to assess bladder filling and emptying, video imaging to look for abnormalities in the bladder and urethra, and real-time ultrasound. Based on the results, we may recommend treatments such as biofeedback, medication, injections, or surgery.

Pediatric kidney stone care 

Kidney stones can be painful and debilitating. Our goal is to treat kidney stones as quickly and with as little discomfort as possible. We also provide education about how to reduce the chances of kidney stones developing again. Depending on the cause, type, and size of the stones, we offer nonsurgical and surgical treatments. Treatments we offer for kidney stones in children include lithotripsy (shock wave treatment), laser therapy, stone removal performed through a catheter, and minimally invasive surgery.

Complex urologic reconstructive surgery

Pediatric urologists perform complex reconstructive surgery for congenital (present at birth) issues, including abnormalities of the bladder and urethra. We also perform surgery when patients who have already had urologic surgery require a surgical repair.

Circumcision of newborns

Both NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley offer dedicated programs for the circumcision of newborns in the first months of life when the procedure could not have been performed shortly after birth, due to prematurity or other issues.

Prenatal assessment

It is often possible to see issues in the urinary system of a baby before birth on a prenatal ultrasound. The pediatric urology teams at NewYork-Presbyterian work closely with our prenatal, pediatric centers, and maternal-fetal medicine divisions to identify and assess abnormalities on prenatal scans and develop a plan of care for the baby. Our centers offer all the prenatal tests needed to diagnose urologic disorders, including ultrasound, voiding cystourethrography (a way to assess urine flow), nuclear renal (kidney) scans, and MRI.

Optimizing kidney transplantation

One in four children who need a kidney transplant or dialysis due to end-stage renal disease needs surgery to correct urologic issues. We work with the pediatric kidney transplant team, performing surgery before and after transplant to improve the kidney’s survival chances, reduce the risk of infections, and improve urinary function.

Get Care

Find Pediatric Urology Care at NewYork-Presbyterian

When you bring your child to us for care, we carefully examine their urinary system and its function, evaluate their needs, and customize a plan of medical care with expertise and compassion. Children and their families come to us from all over the world for our reconstructive surgery expertise and urologic care.

At NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky and NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley, patients benefit from a child-centered environment during each stage of their care. We also conduct research to advance diagnosis and treatment options and are committed to providing the best patient care experience.

Learn more about our pediatric urology services and how we can help your child. Contact us to schedule an appointment.