Mr Dan Wood, Urologist

Clinic details

London Urology Associates (LUA) - view more information

Consultant Urologist

Member of the Royal Society of Medicine
Member of the British Medical Association
Member of the British Association of Urological Surgeons
Member of the European Urological Association
Member for the International Consultation on Incontinence in 2004 and 2008
Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

Mr Dan Wood is a Consultant Urologist in Adolescent and Reconstructive Surgery at University College Hospital, London. He performs a wide range of procedures in urological reconstruction and adolescent urology. His areas of special interest include female and pelvic reconstruction, urethroplasty and artificial urinary sphincters, paediatric & adolescent urology, as well as surgery for congenital malformations .

After gaining a sound background in general urological practice, Mr Wood developed an interest in reconstructive urology. He was awarded a PhD thesis for his work on ‘The characterisation of human detrusor smooth muscle cell cultures’. In 2001 he was awarded a travel fellowship allowing him to visit Harvard University and gain an insight into tissue culture for tissue engineering. He holds a grant with the St. Peter’s Trust looking at long-term outcomes of paediatric surgery. He has developed an interest in urinary tract damage caused by ketamine misuse and is a co-investigator on a collaborative research grant with University of Surrey relating to anticholinergic medication.

Mr Wood is a keen teacher and has lectured for various institutions and groups including St. Peter’s Masterclass at UCLH, Royal College of Surgeons Courses, European Society of Paediatric Urology, American Academy of Paediatrics, the Third International Bladder Exstrophy Symposium at Johns Hopkins Medical Centre, Baltimore, British Association of Paediatric Urologists and British Association of Urological Surgeons. He has published a number of peer-reviewed journal articles and is a member of the Editorial Board of the British journal Urology International and an Associate Editor of the journal Paediatric Urology. He is also a trainer on the North Thames Specialist Training Committee.

What are the common symptoms that your patients tend to present with?

I see a whole range of adolescents with all sorts of symptoms, but I am one of the very few people who specialise in adolescent urology. Patients who are in adolescence come to see me and I work from there. Otherwise, I see symptoms such as urinary incontinence, urinary infections, pain, and things like abnormal findings in the scrotum such as varicocele or testicular lumps.

What services are you able to offer your patients?

My work is entirely benign. A lot of the work is done in terms of evaluation. Once we've got a clear diagnosis, we look at certain things that we can change, such as lifestyle modification, and then we look at treatment options.

For infections, we look to use sensible antibiotic strategies, respecting the need for good stewardship and looking at alternatives for that when it's possible.
For incontinence, we think about a full range of conservative therapies, moving on to surgical options if they need it.

For varicoceles and testicular lumps, we'd be looking at a clear assessment using an ultrasound and decide whether or not it's sensible to treat or intervene and remove. We'll use radiological intervention if we can and surgical intervention otherwise.

We also offer circumcision when there are defined problems with the foreskin.

Can you tell us a bit more about your areas of subspecialist interest?

My particular interest is really in the long-term effects of reconstruction and of congenital urology. I take an entire range of patients who've had treatments in childhood but need care in adulthood. That's really what I focus on the most. That couples very well with patients who've had other reconstructive difficulties or problems throughout life. I manage those complex situations. This is my most common area of expertise.

In addition to the above, I also focus on younger patients, young adults or adolescents who present with primary problems that need assessment.

Adolescent/congenital urology
Bladder problems
Testing scrotum
Circumcision
Urinary tract infections