Urologists in Pinehurst, NC

Three of the things people arrive at a urology page with are emergencies, and the move is an emergency department rather than a call to an office and a wait for the call back. If you cannot get yourself there safely, call 911. Sudden severe pain in one testicle can be testicular torsion, and MedlinePlus is specific about where to go: get emergency medical attention if you have symptoms of testicular torsion as soon as possible, and it is better to go to an emergency room instead of an urgent care in case you need to have surgery right away. It says surgery should be done as soon as possible after symptoms begin, that if it is performed within 6 hours most of the testicle can be saved, and that the chances the testicle will need to be removed increase if blood flow is reduced for more than 6 hours. Its other symptoms of torsion are swelling within one side of the scrotum, nausea or vomiting, a testicle lump, blood in the semen, and the testicle sitting higher in the scrotum than normal.

Being suddenly unable to urinate is the second. NIDDK says acute urinary retention can cause severe pain and be life threatening, and that if you are suddenly unable to urinate it is important to seek emergency medical treatment right away, so go to an emergency department.

The third is blood in the urine with a fever, and here we are deliberately stricter than the source. MedlinePlus says to contact your provider right away if you have blood in the urine along with fever, nausea, vomiting, shaking chills, or pain in your abdomen, side, or back, and it puts being unable to urinate and passing blood clots in your urine on that same list. We would rather you went to an emergency department for blood in the urine with a fever, or for severe flank pain that will not ease. That instruction is ours rather than MedlinePlus's, and we would rather label it than let it read as sourced. Your clinician is the right person to confirm that line. For any of these, do not spend the time searching a directory.

Urologists work on the urinary tract, meaning the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra, in patients of all genders, and on the male reproductive system. Treatment ranges from medications and lifestyle changes to in-office procedures such as cystoscopy and prostate biopsy, and on to surgery: kidney stone removal, prostatectomy, reconstructive work. Many urologists sub-specialize in oncology, female pelvic medicine, men's health, pediatric urology, or stone disease, so it is worth asking what a practice takes on before you book.

Blood in the urine is worth singling out, because it is the reason a lot of referrals get written and because MedlinePlus is blunt about it: never ignore blood you see in your urine, and get checked by your provider, especially if you also have discomfort with urination, frequent urination, urgent urination, or unexplained weight loss. Its list of possible causes runs from infection, stones, and injury to kidney disease, bleeding disorders, and cancer of the bladder or kidney, which is why it gets evaluated rather than watched. It also notes that the small amounts a urine test picks up, called microscopic hematuria, may be found during a routine exam without you seeing anything at all.

For everything not on the emergency list, a scheduled visit is the right shape. Reasons to ask for a referral: blood in the urine, repeated urinary infections, a kidney stone episode, persistent urinary urgency or leakage that affects daily life, an abnormal prostate exam, or trouble emptying the bladder. Most patients arrive on a referral from their primary-care provider after an initial workup.

The practical checks are on every ProviderQuoHealth profile: credentials, accepted insurance, and whether the practice is taking new patients. Sub-specialty is the one people skip, and for a known problem it is worth confirming the surgeon's focus covers it before you take the appointment.