Scope and Passage

A plain-language atlas of minimally invasive urinary-tract procedures

Fifteen cards, three drawers, checked 11 October 2026. General information only.

Minimally invasive urinary-tract procedures, one card at a time

Each card describes one procedure in the same seven steps: what it is, why it is done, how it is done in outline, recovery, risks, questions to ask your clinician, and sources. Diagrams show where in the urinary tract each one works.

Drawer 1

Stones

Kidney and ureteral stones: scopes, lasers, a tract through the back, stents and shock waves.

  • No. 01Stones

    Ureteroscopy

    A thin scope travels up the urinary tract to look at, and treat, stones or blockages.

    Route: Through the urethra, using a thin scope

  • No. 02Stones

    Laser lithotripsy

    Laser energy breaks a stone into smaller pieces that can be removed or passed.

    Route: A laser fiber passed through a scope

  • No. 03Stones

    Percutaneous nephrolithotomy

    A narrow channel through the back into the kidney, mainly for larger stones.

    Route: A small cut in the back, with a tube into the kidney

  • No. 04Stones

    Ureteral stent placement and removal

    A thin tube that keeps a ureter open so urine can drain, and how it comes out.

    Route: Usually placed with a scope through the urethra

  • No. 05Stones

    Shock wave lithotripsy

    Shock waves aimed from outside the body break a stone into fragments.

    Route: From outside the body, with no cut

Drawer 2

Bladder and prostate

Looking inside the bladder, treating tumors and prostate blockage, and calming or widening the passage.

  • No. 06Bladder and prostate

    Cystoscopy

    A look inside the urethra and bladder with a thin scope.

    Route: Through the urethra, using a thin camera

  • No. 07Bladder and prostate

    Transurethral resection of bladder tumor

    Removal of a bladder tumor through the urethra, to treat it and to find out what it is.

    Route: Through the urethra, using a resectoscope

  • No. 08Bladder and prostate

    Transurethral resection of the prostate

    Trimming away prostate tissue that blocks the flow of urine.

    Route: Through the urethra, using a resectoscope

  • No. 09Bladder and prostate

    Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate

    A laser frees the inner prostate tissue that blocks urine flow so it can be removed.

    Route: Through the urethra, using a laser

  • No. 10Bladder and prostate

    Sacral neuromodulation

    A small implanted device that stimulates the nerves involved in bladder control.

    Route: A thin lead near the lower-back nerves, joined to a small implanted device

  • No. 11Bladder and prostate

    Botulinum toxin injections into the bladder

    Small injections into the bladder wall to calm an overactive bladder.

    Route: Through the urethra, with a scope and a fine needle

  • No. 12Bladder and prostate

    Urethrotomy and urethral dilation

    Widening a narrowed urethra by a controlled cut or by gradual stretching.

    Route: Through the urethra, under scope guidance

Drawer 3

Recovery and rehabilitation

Catheters, pelvic floor training and graded return to walking after surgery or injury.

  • No. 13Recovery and rehabilitation

    Urinary catheters after surgery

    A tube that drains urine while you heal, and how to live with it for a short time.

    Route: A tube through the urethra (or, less often, the belly wall)

  • No. 14Recovery and rehabilitation

    Pelvic floor muscle training

    Exercises that strengthen the muscles that help hold urine in.

    Route: Exercises, sometimes taught with biofeedback

  • No. 15Recovery and rehabilitation

    Unweighted treadmill training

    Treadmill walking with part of the body weight lifted off the legs, used in rehabilitation.

    Route: Walking or running in an air-pressure chamber (external)

How to read a card

  1. What it is
  2. Why it is done
  3. How it is done, in outline
  4. Recovery
  5. Risks
  6. Questions to ask your clinician
  7. Sources

Every card ends with the pages it was checked against. Read how we check facts to see what that means in practice.

Words you may meet

Terms such as ureter, stricture, resection and lithotripsy are defined in plain language in the glossary, which links back to the cards where each one appears.

This atlas is for general understanding. It cannot tell you which procedure suits you, and it offers no services.