In early October 2025 I had a ureteroscopy at Whipps Cross Hospital. I am happy to mention the hospital and staff there as they were exceptional, even beyond the usual great staff across the NHS.
It was my first time to ever have a surgery or general anaesthetic, so a whole new learning experience.
What does this procedure involve?
This involves using a telescope (semi-rigid or flexible) passed into your bladder through your urethra (waterpipe) to look at the your ureter and/or kidney. We sometimes need to leave a temporary stent in your ureter after the procedure.
The aim of this procedure is to examine your bladder, ureter (the tube that drains urine from the kidney into the bladder) and kidney using a thin telescope passed through your urethra (waterpipe)
• We use a “semi-rigid” telescope (ureteroscope) to examine your ureter and a flexible uretero-renoscope to examine your kidney
• Sometimes a biopsy (tissue sample) may be taken for analysis, and a laser fibre may be used to destroy an abnormality that is found
• The procedure is normally used to provide information in addition to that obtained from scans e.g. CT scanning
For further details on a Ureteroscopy, scan the QR code. There is also a link to this posting where you can also access the document, or a video if you have a stronger disposition!
Ureteroscopy Leaflet Link
It was an early start to the morning for my wife and I, taxi to the hospital for 7.00am.
Make sure you are fully aware of the requirements for food and fluids from the night before!
So into the preparation area, separated for male and female, and allocated a bed by the nurses. They do the usual checks and then provide the gowns and decompression socks to change into. There is also a bag for your personal belongings.
Then there are various checks by the nurses, BP etc.
The surgeon/orologist then came around and talks through the procedure and you again sign the consent form. (I had already received details and digital consent request online the night before). Dr Tan was very thorough and clear.
You will then meet with the anaesthetist. This is a very detailed questionnaire and assessment. Daniella was really nice and explained everything to me. I was surprised, as a urology patient, that there was so much attention given to my teeth and throat, but this is related to intubation in the operating theatre.
Indeed Daniella came back twice to check about my teeth and throat, and I had to do various neck movements.
Luckily I was the first patient to the theatre from the 10 in the holding area. At about 10:00am I was escorted to the anaesthetists' room. Again, Daniella was there to go through the questions again. She is from Chile and really nice, making you feel at ease before the surgery. You then have to breathe deeply with an oxygen mask. After about 10 mins Daniella said they would introduce the anaesthetic. I remember some counting and Daniella saying "Sweet Dreams"....and with that our relationship ended!!!
At about 11:15 I woke up in the observation ward (Martha was really attentive) and then wheeled back to the original ward.
Back on the ward, the nurses (Elenha and Fay were exceptional) brought me a light snack for lunch. You have to wait a while under observation, but within an hour I got up and dressed and was feeling fine. The nurses then looked to get me discharged, which took 30 mins, and waited for my wife to come and meet me.
And that was my experience. Back home and feeling fine! There was some pain and discomfort for a day or two, and I passed urine more frequently, but all went well.
I had turned my phone to silent, as per the notice in the waiting room in the hospital, and forgot to turn the volume back on, so I missed two call from my surgeon to explain how the procedure had gone. It was only afterwards that I learned about the details of the stent being applied. So remember to keep your phone available!
Thank you very much to the wonderful staff at Whipp's Cross Hospital. The nurses say they ae a family, and honestly that is exactly what comes across.
