Bladder diseases, Infections

Infections ( Cystitis, inflammation of the Bladder):
Caused usually by bowel bacteria (E coli) transferring to the bladder. When inflammation is acute and there are no complications, short-term antibiotic therapy is usually sufficient. If there are regularly more than three occurrences of bladder inflammation per year, further diagnostic investigation and therapy are required.

Blasentumor:
The most frequent malignant bladder tumour is urothelial carcinoma. The highest risk factor is smoking cigarettes. On rare occasions, squamous epithelial carcinomas or adenocarcinomas may also arise in the bladder.
How a bladder tumour is treated depends on its extent and the degree to which the bladder wall is affected. The first therapeutic measure is almost always an operation on the tumour via the bladder (transurethral resection). Further transurethral resection, bladder washing (instillation therapy), or even, in extreme cases, the complete surgical removal of the bladder (cystectomy) may be required.

Benign tumours are bladder papillomas; patches of endometriosis may also occur in the bladder.

Urinary Incontinence
Stress incontinence: Involuntary loss of urine occasioned by physical stress (e.g. coughing, sneezing, lifting a heavy weight etc.).

Urge incontinence: Involuntary loss of urine with acute and uncontrollable urge to urinate.

Reflex incontinence

Overflow incontinence

Extra-urethral incontinence

Bladder stones
Stones in the bladder are almost always associated with obstruction in the flow of urine, e.g. due to an enlarged prostate gland (BPH = benign prostatic hypertrophy, prostate adenoma), or with a neurological urine flow disorder, flaccid bladder.

Removal of the stone via the urethra is usually possible. In rare cases it is necessary to make a surgical incision. Almost always associated with below-bladder obstruction.