Best Urologists in Chennai, India

Urology covers the kidneys, ureters, bladder, prostate and urethra, along with the male reproductive organs. Below is what that means in practice in Chennai, and what to ask about each.

1. Where the Hospitals Are

They cluster in four recognisable parts of the city:

• The central district around Greams Road

• The corridor running south along Old Mahabalipuram Road

• Nungambakkam and Alwarpet

• The southern suburbs around Chromepet and Tambaram

Ask which of these your hospital is in and book accommodation nearby rather than somewhere central.

2. Kidney Transplantation and the Law

Transplantation has a long history in Chennai and is often shared between urologists and dedicated transplant teams. The legal position is strict and worth reading before you make any arrangements:

• Living donation is limited to specified relatives

• Anything outside that needs authorisation committee approval

• Documentation of the relationship is required, with proof that no money changed hands

• Foreign nationals face additional requirements

Organs cannot be bought or sold. If an agent tells you a paid donor can be arranged, they are describing a crime rather than a service. Walk away, and report it.

3. Stone Disease

This makes up a large share of routine work. Most of it is treated endoscopically, and the choice between shock waves from outside the body, a telescope passed up the urinary tract, and a small tract made directly into the kidney turns on the size and hardness of the stone and the shape of your kidney.

Stones sitting in the bladder are a separate problem with a separate fix, usually bladder stone removal through the urethra. In men they frequently point to an obstruction further down that has to be dealt with in its own right.

4. The Prostate

An enlarged prostate is not cancer, though the symptoms overlap enough that assessment has to begin with examination and tests. When medication stops being enough, surgery is usually resection through the urethra, or one of several laser alternatives.

Where the question is cancer rather than obstruction, the answer comes from a needle biopsy of the prostate and not from a PSA number on its own. A raised PSA has several explanations, and most of them are not cancer.

5. Reconstructive Urology

This is one of the fields where Chennai's older units show their depth. Narrowing of the urethra after injury, infection or previous instrumentation is treated by urethral surgery, and the results depend more on how much of this specific work a surgeon does than on almost anything else.

Ask how many they perform in a year. A surgeon who does this work often will answer without hesitating.

6. Male Fertility and Sexual Health

The specialty also covers male fertility, erectile dysfunction and correcting Peyronie's disease. These are ordinary medical problems with established treatments and nothing to feel awkward about raising.

Go to someone who does this work regularly. This corner of the field attracts a lot of unregulated advertising.

7. Paediatric Urology

This is a separate practice with separate training, and Chennai has long-standing paediatric units rather than adult surgeons taking children on occasionally. Conditions such as an undescended testicle carry a timing element, so undescended testicle surgery is worth raising early rather than waiting to see.

An adult urologist, however senior, is not the right surgeon for a child. Say at the outset that the patient is a child, so you are sent to the right clinic from the beginning.

Comparing Across India

If you would rather look nationally before settling on a city, start from every urologist we list in India and come back to the city pages once you know which subspecialty you need.

Reviewed by Abdul Azeem, MA (Public Health specialisation)