The service provides a bespoke approach for each individual, which aims to streamline their treatment and eliminate a need to travel outside the region.
It’s not a new service for Shepparton, but it is one that’s been absent for some time.
Thanks to the efforts of Shepparton Women’s Health Centre, Dr Debjyoti Karmakar and Shepparton Private Hospital, a new diagnostic instrument to perform the studies has been installed at SWHC.
Dr Karmakar, a Melbourne-based gynaecologist and a doctoral fellow with the University of Melbourne, visits Shepparton for three days every four weeks.
He has been consulting at SWHC for around a year and a half.
He’s thrilled to be able to provide the nurse-led, specialist service again.
“It’s very important to bring this service — consulting and diagnostics — to town,” Dr Karmakar said.
“To go from rural Victoria to metropolitan areas, it adds to the patient’s time, inconvenience and cost.”
For those reasons, he said, some people avoided having the studies done at all, which made managing their distress more difficult.
Urodynamics is an advanced test that assesses how the bladder fills, stores and passes urine.
It can help identify the cause of urinary leakage, bladder urgency or frequent urination, frequent night waking to urinate, bladder emptying difficulty, pelvic organ prolapse-associated bladder symptoms and complex or persistent continence concerns.
Patients must first get a referral from their general practitioner and have a consult with Dr Karmakar before the 45-minute procedure can take place.
Results are instant and a future care plan can begin being mapped out immediately.
The results can guide personalised treatment and may be recommended before certain continence or prolapse procedures to avoid causing harm or performing interventions that are not going to work.
“If women need surgery for incontinence, they can have mesh or non-mesh options,” Dr Karmakar said.
“There is some concern around the use of mesh. The test guides us on what options can be used for women who are averse to having mesh, which helps with shared decision-making.”
SWHC is determined to make the service accessible to all in the Goulburn Valley who need it.
Flexible fee arrangements are available for patients without private health insurance, and individual circumstances can be confidentially discussed with staff.
For more information, visit sheppartonwomenshealthcentre.com.au
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