ureteroscopy (YER-eh-ter-OS-koh-pee) Examination of the inside of the kidney and ureter, using a ureteroscope. A ureteroscope is a thin, tube-like instrument with a light and a lens for viewing. It may also have a tool to remove tissue to be checked under a microscope for signs of disease. The ureteroscope is passed through the urethra into the bladder, ureter, and renal pelvis (part of the kidney that collects, holds, and drains urine).
I’ve got one of these coming in the not too distant future but hopefully it will be put off for a bit. I’ve already had a cystoscopy and that was a fun filled morning waiting on plastic couches while reading AARP and being surrounded by ancient men with blank stares and then sitting all alone in a cold room half naked with my legs in stirrups with a q-tip shoved up my urethra until I was adequately numb. It was actually neat being able to see inside of what I normally think of as a gross organ, but as neat as it may be to watch a camera go up to my kidneys, there’s something disconcerting about having a rod shoved half way up my torso.
