What does a urologist treat?

October 15, 2019

At the Austin Urology Institute, we hear from a lot of people that they don’t know what a urologist does.  I often tell my patients that I am a “Plumber for People.”  What does that mean?  Well, we treat diseases involving the genitourinary tract.  That involves the kidneys and the ureters, which take urine down to the bladder. It also includes the testicles and penis in men, and many vaginal/incontinence issues in women.  When it comes to diseases, we treat kidney stones and kidney cancers, blockage of the ureters or kidneys (called hydronephrosis).  Bladder stones and bladder cancers are also common, and sometimes can be a source of blood in the urine. Incontinence and urinary problems, whether it is nighttime urination (nocturia), urinary urgency, frequency and urinary leakage are also taken care of by us. Erectile dysfunction and Low Testosterone are becoming increasingly important to men as they grow older, and yes we take care of that too.  For those who have completed their families, we are known throughout central Texas for performing vasectomies.  In fact, we are the only clinic to offer a Saturday vasectomy clinic, making it easy for busy parents to take care of their family planning. Vasectomy on Saturday, back to work on Monday!

At the Austin Urology Institute, we are known around Austin for having some of the best staff in town.  We always answer the phone (no computers!)  and will do our best to get you in to see us the same day or within the week in almost every case.  Although our waiting room is one of the nicest around, you’ll typically not wait more than a few minutes before being seen by our staff.  Most of our patients are seen, evaluated, treated and back out within an hour.  We are proud that our patients have in turn rewarded us with numerous 5-star awards for being their best urologist in Austin.  We don’t take it for granted, and are very appreciative of each hard earned compliment.  When you love what you do, it shows.

Apart from our award winning care and clinical team, Dr. Shaw loves teaching and using the latest technology available.  We are proud to have the newest latest diagnostic equipment in our office, and we were the first in the state of Texas to have digital, HD cameras to evaluate the bladder in the office.  These new scopes are smaller, have better vision, and are more comfortable for our patients. In the operating room, Dr. Shaw hates to make incisions to do surgery.  Most of our surgery is non-invasive (no cuts), or minimally invasive when necessary.  DaVinci Robotic surgery is a specialty for Dr. Shaw, and he is a pioneer in this surgery, having used this technology for over 10 years.  He was amongst the first to use this to do a major bladder cancer procedure nearly 10 years ago in Austin.  In 2014, he was amongst the first in the world to use the newest, latest robotic system, the DaVinci XI unit, to do prostate cancer surgery.

Dr. Shaw is proud to be Chief of Staff for the North Austin Medical Center, and Chief of Urology of the Arise Hospital System.  He is also one of two surgeons doing laparoscopic Kidney Transplant surgery in the Austin area.

To make an appointment, call us at 512-694-8888, or click here