Cystoscopy

• Cystoscopy is examination of the lining of the bladder
   using a thin, fibre-optic 'telescope'.

• The procedure is used to investigate the cause of
   urinary symptoms, such as urgency, frequency or blood
   in the urine, or as part of the investigation of cancer of
   the cervix.

• Cystoscopy is usually performed under a general
   anaesthetic as a day-case procedure and takes about
  5-10 minutes.

• The urethra (the tube through which urine passes from
   the bladder to the outside) is dilated and the bladder
   filled with fluid through a soft plastic tube called a
   catheter. The cystoscope is then inserted to examine the
   lining of the bladder.

• Normal activities can be resumed the following day.

• In patients undergoing major abdominal surgery (e.g. for
  cancer of the cervix or ovary), cystoscopy may be used to   insert plastic stents into the ureters (the tubes which
  drain the urine from the kidneys into the bladder), so that
  the surgeon can identify them more easily. The stents are
  removed after surgery.