Conditions Treated

Specialized Clinical Programs

Minimally invasive surgery

The Division of Urology is a global leader in the use of minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of children with urologic disorders. Our surgeons were among the first in the country to adapt robotic-assisted surgery for the care of even the smallest children, and are among the most experienced in the country in performing these procedures. We perform a wide variety of minimally invasive procedures, which offer reduced pain, shorted hospitalizations, and improved outcomes.

Multi-Institutional Bladder Exstrophy Consortium

Children who come to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for bladder exstrophy repair will have access to a multi-institutional collaboration comprised of expert pediatric urologists from several world-renowned institutions. This multicenter team provides expert surgical care and is dedicated to improving functional and cosmetic outcomes of children born with bladder exstrophy as well as epispadias.

Neurogenic Bladder Program

The care of children with neurogenic bladder is one of our longstanding specialties in the Division of Urology. We provide care for more than 600 different children who have neurogenic bladder.

Pediatric Kidney Stone Center

Our Pediatric Kidney Stone Center was established to meet the increasing need for specialized care for children with urinary stone disease. Our multidisciplinary team is a global leader in providing comprehensive surgical, medical and nutritional care for children with stone disease.

Disorders of Sex Development Program

We take a multidisciplinary, team approach to diagnosing and treating children with ambiguous genitalia and disorders of sex development. Our team includes professionals from urology, endocrinology, genetics and pediatric psychology.

DOVE Center for Voiding and Bladder Function

As one of the largest, most comprehensive clinics in the United States devoted to pediatric bladder and urinary tract dysfunction, our DOVE (Dysfunctional Outpatient Voiding Education) Center specializes in finding and treating the causes of daytime and nighttime wetting, urinary urgency, constipation and recurrent urinary tract infections.

Hypospadias management

Today’s hypospadias surgery techniques were developed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and we remain a global leader in the management of hypospadias. We care for children across the range of severity, from more common distal hypospadias to complex reconstructions and re-operative hypospadias. Many patients come to us seeking solutions after having many prior procedures that were not successful. We treat each individual with the goal of achieving the best possible outcomes, with a cosmetically pleasing appearance and normal sexual and urinary function.

Each year we perform more than 4,000 surgeries and treat more than 20,000 children — some of whom travel to Philadelphia from around the world. Members of our team have pioneered many of the reconstructive surgical procedures that are used throughout the world today to treat urologic conditions.

Our division is consistently ranked as one of the top programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's Best Children’s Hospitals survey for treatment of complex pediatric urologic issues.

To increase access for children in parts of the world with limited ability or resources to travel to Philadelphia for care, we have also established a surgical training program for complex urologic diseases in Ahmedabad, India. Every year, a team of surgeons travel from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to evaluate children with complex surgical needs and perform surgeries.