Pediatric Urology

Our Doctors/Providers

Department Heads:

Daniel McMahon, MD

Director, Pediatric Urology; Pediatric Urologist

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Physicians/Providers:

Curtis Clark, MD

Pediatric Urologist

Accepting New Patients

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Eric Massanyi, MD

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Ruth Youssefi, APRN-CNP

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

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Treatment and Testing

Biofeedback Program for Bedwetting

Biofeedback is a method to help children learn how to control parts of their body that aren’t usually thought to be under conscious control. During biofeedback a computer is used to measure, record and display (or feed back) information about a body process. The purpose of biofeedback is to help children better understand how the body works and how to control it in healthier ways.

Biofeedback is a way to treat and manage daytime wetting, urinary tract infections and reflux (backward flow of urine from the bladder into the kidneys) in children. In pediatric urology biofeedback, children are taught to retrain the pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor muscles help the bladder store and empty urine. When the muscles are tight, the bladder stores urine without leaking. When the muscles are relaxed, the bladder can empty. Children who have discoordinated voiding tend to have more tension in their pelvic floor muscles.  They have trained their pelvic floor muscles to hold and NOT to relax, causing them to hold urine longer and not to empty their bladder completely. Biofeedback is used to teach children how to relax their pelvic floor so their bladder can empty completely.

During a biofeedback session, stickers are placed on your child’s belly and buttocks. These stickers have wires connected to a computer. The wires send signals to the computer telling it how well the pelvic floor muscles are squeezing and relaxing. This information is turned into picture and sound messages the child can hear and see on the computer. By hearing and seeing these messages, children can know exactly what their muscles are doing. If they change what their muscles are doing, the feedback on the computer will also change. These exercises help children learn to control his or her pelvic floor muscles, even when they are not hooked up to the computer. The overall goal is to improve the child’s ability to store urine and empty his or her bladder more effectively.

Biofeedback is offered as a treatment option for:

• Children who “strain” to void
• Children who do not empty their bladder completely
• Children with recurrent urinary tract infections
• Children who void with a start-stop-start pattern
• Children who void with a prolonged flow without much “force”

• Ultrasound: Renal (Kidneys, Ureters, Bladder)
• Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG)
• Ultrasound: Scrotum
• X-Ray Exam: Abdomen

Videos & Educational Resources

• A to Z: Hydrocele
• A to Z: Varicocele (Scrotal Varices)
• Hernias
• A to Z: Epididymitis
• A to Z: Testicular Torsion
• A to Z: Undescended Testicle
• A to Z: Phimosis
• A to Z: Meatal Stenosis
• A to Z: Hypospadias
• A to Z: Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR)
• A to Z: Ureteropelvic (UP) Junction Obstruction
• A to Z: Hydronephrosis
• A to Z: Neurogenic Bladder
• A to Z: Ectopic Ureter
• A to Z: Kidney Stones
• A to Z: Ureterocele
• A to Z: Myelomeningocele
• Hernias
• Hernias
• Hernias
• Kidney Diseases in Childhood