With age typically comes a host of fairly predictable changes in the human body. Around the age of 50, both males and females may begin to experience problems in their urinary tract, which is the body’s drainage system for removing waste and water in the form of urine. The urinary tract includes kidneys, ureters and bladder, and all of these things need to work together to operate normally.
Urologic diseases or conditions include urinary tract infections, kidney stones, bladder control problems and prostate problems, among others. Some urologic disorders last a relatively short amount of time, while others affect the patient for a much longer time.
Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) offers a team of specially trained physicians focused on treating disorders and diseases affecting the urinary tract in both males and females. PMC’s Urologists, Mark Swofford, DO, and Dustin Gayheart, MD, focus on surgical and medical diseases of the male and female urinary tract system and the male reproductive organs.
Drs. Swofford and Gayheart are each Board Certified and have the ability to offer a wide assortment of procedures to patients. This highly trained and dedicated team works together to provide the region with services and procedures such as cystoscopy, prostate biopsy, urodynamics, urethral dilation, bladder scans, heparin injections, penile implants, bladder sling, prostate cancer hormone injection therapy and many other specialized procedures.
“In the past, surgery would typically require large open incisions, but with the da Vinci System, we make several small incisions,” explained Dr. Gayheart. “We perform many different robotic surgeries using a control system which allows our hand movements to make more precise movements using tiny instruments inside the body.”
The Urology Department is located on the second floor of the PMC Clinic Building. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30am through 4:00pm. To learn more about the PMC Urology Department, visit www.pikevillehospital.org/services/urology, or call 606-430-2202.
