Reasons for having a cystoscopy
A cystoscopy can be done to check what's causing your bladder symptoms, treat some bladder conditions, or to help diagnose and treat bladder cancer.
Checking bladder symptoms
A cystoscopy can be used to check what’s causing your bladder symptoms, such as:
- blood in your pee
- urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- urinary incontinence
- pain in the lower part of your tummy (pelvic pain) that does not go away
- symptoms affecting your peeing, such as it hurting when you pee, peeing more than normal, or it not feeling like you’ve fully emptied your bladder after peeing
Treating bladder conditions
You might also have a cystoscopy to treat certain bladder conditions.
A cystoscope can be used to:
- remove bladder stones
- help shrink the prostate if you have prostate enlargement
- inject medicines directly into the bladder, such as Botox for an overactive bladder
- repair damage to the bladder
- remove a sample of cells for testing (a biopsy)
Checking for and treating bladder cancer
A biopsy can be used to check for any changes in the bladder, which could be bladder cancer.
Bladder cancer can be hard to diagnose, so you may also have other tests.
If you’ve been diagnosed with bladder cancer, a cystoscopy may be used to:
- remove a tumour in the bladder
- check how well treatment, such as chemotherapy, is working,