Joshua Palka, MD, is a urologist at Trinity Health St. Joseph Mercy Livingston. Dr. Palka spoke with The Livingston Post to discuss common urological conditions patients suffer from and how to avoid them, as well care options for patients with prostate cancer.
Q: What is urology? And what do you primarily focus on in your work?
Dr. Palka: Urologists treat diseases of the urinary tract, which includes the kidney, ureter, bladder, reproductive organs and urethra.
Among the things I focus on are cancers in the urinary tract, with prostate cancer being the most common kind I treat. If one of my patients has signs or symptoms of prostate cancer, such as trouble urinating or blood in your urine, we would set them up with an initial evaluation to see if they have elevated PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) levels. Pending those levels, we would proceed with a biopsy and then determine next steps. Those next steps can include surgery, radiation, and monitoring the cancer to ensure it doesn’t evolve into a more aggressive form.
Q: What does a prostate cancer surgery entail for the patients who choose to pursue it?
Dr. Palka: Patients are taken to the operating room inside Trinity Health St. Joseph Mercy Livingston and are sedated by an anesthesiologist. The surgery usually lasts between three-and-a-half and four hours.
The tool we use at the hospital for these surgeries is called the da Vinci Surgical System, which is a robotic surgical platform that gives us a high-definition view of where the surgery is being performed, among other things. This helps ensure the highest quality of care and results. It is minimally invasive, so the incisions are very small.
Most patients are out of the hospital either the same day or the morning after the surgery. It takes about a month for the patient to fully recover.
Q: What are some other common problems patients see you for?
Dr. Palka: During the warmer months of the year, the number one thing I treat is kidney stones. Symptoms of a kidney stone include back pain, flank pain, abdominal pain, and sometimes nausea and vomiting.
I also treat men who have prostate issues — primarily enlarged prostates. This can give them a weak urine stream or make them unable to urinate altogether. It can also be the complete opposite, where the patient gets up several times each night to urinate.
Q: How can people avoid getting kidney stones? And if they do have them, how is it treated?
Dr. Palka: The reason I treat a lot of patients with kidney stones during the warmer months is because they don’t drink enough water. I highly recommend hydrating throughout the day and making that a big focus during the summer.
People can also get kidney stones by eating a lot of salty foods and drinking dark soda pop. We normally try and let kidney stones pass on their own, but surgery is an option if they are too large to pass through naturally.
Q: How do you treat patients with an enlarged prostate?
Palka: We have a really helpful device for patients called the UroLift. This helps open the prostate wider so the patient can properly urinate. We can implant it through a scope into the prostate, and it deploys a mechanism that opens the prostate. Patients endure very minimal discomfort, making the experience easy and pain-free.
For more information or to find a urologist, visit www.stjoeshealth.org/findaphysician or call (844) 237-3627.
