With a condition like Peyronie’s disease, you’ll want to find a doctor who focuses on your specific needs. A specialist can help. Peyronie’s specialists are doctors who work carefully with the condition and other similar disorders. They can help you get the best care for your symptoms.
What Type of Specialist Treats Peyronie’s Disease?
Your primary care doctor can help you learn about your condition and set you in the right direction. But a specialist can offer you care that’s tailored to your Peyronie’s disease.
Peyronie’s disease specialists are called urologists. These doctors work with conditions that affect your urinary tract or reproductive system. They can work with women, men, and children.
Your primary care doctor can refer you to a urologist. But you can also do your own research and find other urologists close to you. These doctors usually have their own practices or a different office inside a main hospital.
How Can You Find the Best Peyronie’s Specialist for You?
It’s a good idea to check a few things during your search for a specialist. You’ll want to find a urologist that works well for you. Here are some things you can do to help:
Make sure they focus on Peyronie’s disease. Urologists work on many different conditions. It’s important to make sure that your specialist has a lot of experience with your condition. You can look up their training and background online.
You’ll be able to find information about where they got their degrees and other areas they’ve worked.
When in doubt, you can always call and ask about how much experience they have working with Peyronie’s disease.
Talk to people you know. In addition to your doctor’s recommendations, you can also ask your friends and family for help. They might know of a good urologist who they’ve seen before. This way, you’ll know someone you trust has already been to this specialist. You’re more likely to have a pleasant experience if your close circles did too.
Do your own research. You can look online to find urologists in your area. Their phone numbers should be listed as well. To decide if they may be a good fit, you can call their office and ask some questions. You may want to know:
- If they’re taking new appointments
- How far out are they booking right now?
- Where they’re located and if it’s easy for you to get to
- What’s their cancellation policy?
- Do they offer translation services if the doctor doesn’t speak your first language?
You may also want to consider which hospital a urologist is linked to. If you already go to a primary care doctor that’s within a certain hospital, you might want to go to a specialist under the same one.
Find a specialist you feel comfortable with. With any medical condition, it's important to feel connected to your doctor. But especially with Peyronie’s disease, which might be uncomfortable to talk about at times, you should feel comfortable with your specialist.
You might prefer a specialist who has a similar background as you. It can help to connect to your doctor if you two share similarities. In some cases, you might want to look for a Peyronie’s specialist who is:
- The same race as you
- The same gender as you
- Of a similar culture
- A member of the LGBTQ+ community
During your appointment, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Take a mental note of how well the doctors listen to you, how much effort they put into their answers, how well they explain certain things to you, and how they make you feel overall.
If you didn’t enjoy your appointment, you don’t have to stick it out for future ones.
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. If you don’t feel like you and your specialist click after you’ve gotten to know them, it’s OK to switch doctors. Your comfort is a priority when it comes to your health.
Make sure you’re covered. Health care is expensive. It’s best to factor in expenses before you commit to a specialist. If you have insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid, make sure that your urologist accepts whichever one you plan to use.
With insurance, you can look over your plan’s provider directory. This will list all the doctors and hospitals that your plan works with. This can help you narrow down your choices.
Show Sources
Photo Credit: JGI / Tom Grill / Getty Images
SOURCES:
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: “Choosing a Doctor: Quick Tips.”
Mayo Clinic: “Peyronie’s Disease.”
Beth Israel Lahey Health Winchester Hospital: “Beyond Primary Care: Choosing a Medical Specialist.”
Cleveland Clinic: “Urologist.”
HealthCare.gov: “5 Steps to Find the Right Doctor For You.”
Michigan Medicine: “Minority Patients Benefit From Having Minority Doctors, But That’s a Hard Match to Make.”
Consumer Reports: “How to Find a Good Doctor.”
