Transurethral resection of a bladder tumour (TURBT) is an operation used to diagnose and treat early bladder cancer. Your doctor may recommend TURBT after you’ve had some other tests that have shown there’s an abnormal growth (tumour) in your bladder.
Transurethral means through the urethra. This is the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of your body. During a TURBT operation, your surgeon removes any abnormal growths (tumours) in your bladder. The tumour or tumours will be sent to a laboratory to find out if they are cancerous and if they have grown into the bladder wall. You are given a general anaesthetic, which means that you are asleep and do not feel any pain. The surgeon puts a thin tube called a cystoscope into your bladder through the urethra. This tube has a camera and light on the end. Your surgeon can then pass small instruments down the cystoscope and use them to remove any bladder tumours.
The surgeon may also perform an intravesical chemotherapy that can prevent tumours from returning. The procedure takes between 15 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes. You usually stay in hospital for one night. Afterwards, your surgeon sends the bladder tumour or tumours that they have removed to a laboratory. They are examined under a microscope.
Here at Highgate Private Hospital, we have London’s leading consultant urologists who treat bladder and other urinary tract problems. They assess your symptoms, arrange any tests and agree an individual treatment plan with you. We offer an all-inclusive self-pay package for the TURBT procedure to remove a bladder tumour. Prices for the operation, chemotherapy, routine microscope study and one follow-up appointment start from £3,887 (terms and conditions apply). For more information, please call our self-pay advisers on
