Dr. Mahmoud Chebab, Urologist with Guthrie, Joins to Discuss Urology Care

Matt Brooks: Good morning. I’m Matt Brooks on X101 Always Classic for another edition of Your Care with Guthrie. And with me on the line is Dr. Chehab from Guthrie Urology Department. First off, thank you for joining me this morning, Doctor.

Dr. Chehab: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.

Matt Brooks: All right. Well, let’s get right into it. First off, what are some of the most common urological problems you see, and what are some early signs should people pay attention to?

Dr. Chehab: So, some of the most common in men differ from female, and we see both genders in the clinic. For men, it’s mostly enlarged prostate or BPH and problems with urination, also prostate cancer and kidney stones. On the female side, see a lot of urinary tract infections as well as urine leakage, and for each we have its own methods to treat it and help patients out.

Matt Brooks: So, when considering going to a urologist, many people aren’t sure whether to call their primary care provider or directly to the urologist. When is it time to see a urologist instead?

Dr. Chehab: I mean, anytime they’re having a hard time going to see their primary care, they’re always welcome to call our office or clinic, and we’d be happy to see them. Typically within a few days, sometimes same day even. And they really want to call anytime they’re having a problem with urination. If they’re having burning, if they’re having blood, if they can’t go to the bathroom, if they’re having pain, anything related to the bladder or the kidneys, they’re always welcome to call us, and typically we have availability to see them right away.

Matt Brooks: Now, when we’re talking about issues such as bladder control, prostate health, or blood in the urine, it can be uncomfortable to bring up. Why is it so important not to wait or stay silent about these symptoms?

Dr. Chehab: I mean, blood in the urine is always a big red flag. We should not be seeing blood in the urine, and a lot of patients say, “Yeah, you know, I only saw it once. I’m going to let it go. I’m not going to worry about it.” But that’s the wrong approach. If you see blood once, that’s all what it takes to trigger a workup, and a lot of times we could uncover cancer of the bladder or the prostate or the kidney, and we could treat it early on before it becomes a problem. If we ignore it and we don’t do anything about it, then it might be too late to treat it effectively. So I would encourage patients, anytime they see signs of blood in the urine or something is wrong, don’t wait on it, don’t say, “Yeah, it’s nothing,” or “Oh, maybe it was just a bumpy ride.” It needs to be investigated. Just seeing blood is not normal.

Matt Brooks: Right. If it’s there once, get it checked out.

Dr. Chehab: That’s all what it takes. If you see it once, you know, come see us, let us do the appropriate workup. We give patients reassurance, “Yeah, it’s nothing,” or, you know, hopefully, we could find the source of it and treat that so it doesn’t happen again.

Matt Brooks: Now, we are running a little bit out of time. I want to make sure that for those who are interested or think they should contact their urologist, what simple steps can people take to keep their urinary and kidney health in good shape? And furthermore, how can they get connected with care at Guthrie?

Dr. Chehab: Yeah, so easy. So for patients to prevent hopefully problems, drink water. Water is the most important thing to keep hydrated. I usually tell patients 60 to 80 ounces a day, especially, you know, with kidney stones, we want to drink close to 100 ounces a day. But stay hydrated, especially in the summer, in the hot weather, when you sweat a lot, you got to replace all that. If you’re not hydrated, that could cause kidney stones, could cause urine infections, cause the bladder to become unhappy. And if there’s concerns, they could always call the clinic at 607-428-5757, or they could go online to the Guthrie website and they could go in and see what available appointments there are there, and they could schedule it right from the computer or their smartphone, or on the Guthrie app as well.

Matt Brooks: Yep, very easy to make an appointment with Guthrie with so many ways to do so. But first and foremost, thank you for joining me this morning on another edition of Your Care with Guthrie.

Dr. Chehab: It was a pleasure talking to you, and our doors are always open.

Matt Brooks: This is Matt Brooks on X101 Always Classic.