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Expert list · Last reviewed April 17, 2026

Top Urologists for Urinary Incontinence in California

Leading California urologists treating urinary incontinence, with the clinical focus, institutional ties, and research behind each specialist.

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California is home to several top urologists for urinary incontinence whose clinical depth and peer-reviewed research have shaped how bladder leakage is treated across the country. Here is where to start.

The specialists below all practice at major California academic medical centers, with clinical focus on stress incontinence, urgency incontinence, post-prostatectomy leakage, and pelvic floor disorders. Most hold fellowship leadership roles in urogynecology, female pelvic medicine, or male reconstructive surgery, and their published research is cited in international treatment guidelines. A few see mostly women, some focus on men, and one leads a pediatric program for children with bladder conditions.

Victor Nitti

Victor Nitti, M.D.

Professor of Urology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chief of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Fellowship Director, Shlomo Raz Chair in Urology

Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital

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Dr. Nitti is Chief of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at UCLA and holds the Shlomo Raz Chair in Urology. He treats women and men with the most difficult incontinence problems — refractory overactive bladder, complex pelvic prolapse, urethral strictures, and leakage that persists after prior surgery. His phase 3 trials showing that onabotulinumtoxinA safely reduces overactive bladder symptoms 1 2 changed everyday practice for patients who cannot tolerate oral medications, and his earlier work on bladder outlet obstruction in women 3 set the diagnostic standard still used in urodynamics labs today. He has also helped write the international consensus recommendations on evaluating incontinence 4.

Jesse Mills

Jesse Mills, MD

Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Urology; Director, Men's Clinic at UCLA; Fellowship Director, Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery; Director, UCLA Urology Santa Monica

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

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Dr. Mills directs the Men's Clinic at UCLA and runs the urology practice at UCLA Santa Monica. He focuses on male reproductive and sexual medicine, hormone issues, and the bladder symptoms that often go along with them — post-prostatectomy incontinence, urgency tied to low testosterone, and urinary changes after pelvic surgery. His work on adult-onset hypogonadism 5 and on recovering fertility after testosterone therapy 6 shapes how clinicians counsel men who present with overlapping urinary, hormonal, and sexual complaints.

Karyn Eilber

Karyn Eilber, MD

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

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Dr. Eilber is a urologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills. She treats women with stress incontinence, overactive bladder, pelvic organ prolapse, and mesh-related complications from prior sling surgery. Her 2018 meta-analysis on the placebo effect in female sexual dysfunction 7 pushed the field toward more honest patient counseling, and her study of transvaginal mesh litigation 8 gave patients clearer context on which complications actually cause harm versus which claims are driven by mass advertising. She has also published on how well patients understand pelvic floor disorders after their first visit 9.

Craig Comiter

Craig Comiter, MD

Professor of Urology and, by courtesy, of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Division Chief of Urologic Specialties; Director, Stanford Program in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery

Pelvic Health Center, Stanford University School of Medicine

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Dr. Comiter is Division Chief of Urologic Specialties at Stanford and directs Stanford's Program in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. He sees women with stress incontinence, overactive bladder, and interstitial cystitis, and men with leakage after prostate surgery. His prospective studies of sacral neuromodulation for refractory interstitial cystitis 10 and overactive bladder 11 helped establish InterStim therapy as a real option when medications fail, and his review of surgical treatment for stress incontinence in men 12 is a standard reference for male sling and artificial sphincter decisions.

Ja-Hong Kim

Ja-Hong Kim, MD

Associate Professor, Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery (URPS), Department of Urology

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

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Dr. Kim is an Associate Professor in UCLA's Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. She focuses on female stress and urgency incontinence, recurrent urinary tract infections, and complications from previous pelvic surgery. Her patient focus-group research on fear and frustration in women with recurrent urinary tract infections 13 has reshaped how urologists talk with patients about antibiotic stewardship, and her earlier work on intracellular bacterial communities 14 pointed to one reason some bladder infections keep coming back. She has also studied what happens when a mesh sling has to be removed 15.

Hillary Copp

Hillary Copp, MD, MS

chief of pediatric urology

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital

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Dr. Copp is Chief of Pediatric Urology in San Francisco, with hospital privileges across Zuckerberg San Francisco General, MarinHealth, and Good Samaritan. She treats children with daytime wetting, bedwetting, recurrent urinary tract infections, and structural bladder conditions. Her meta-analysis on imaging for nonpalpable undescended testes 16 convinced guideline panels to stop routine ultrasound, and her work on antibiotic prophylaxis and uropathogen resistance 17 helped rebalance how often children with recurrent infections are kept on daily antibiotics.

What to look for in a urology specialist

  • Board certification in urology, ideally with additional fellowship training in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) or male reconstructive urology
  • Affiliation with a teaching hospital or academic medical center, which usually means access to newer options like sacral neuromodulation and Botox injections
  • A subspecialty focus matching your situation — stress vs. urgency incontinence, post-prostatectomy leakage, or pediatric bladder care
  • Realistic wait times and whether the practice is taking new patients
  • Insurance compatibility, especially for urodynamics testing and in-office procedures

Questions to ask before your first appointment

  • How many patients with urinary incontinence do you treat each year, and how many of those have my specific type?
  • Will you start with behavioral therapy and medication, or do you move quickly to procedures?
  • What is your experience with sling surgery, sacral neuromodulation, and Botox for the bladder?
  • If surgery does not work the first time, what are my next options with you?
  • How do you handle patients with prior mesh complications or failed incontinence surgery?
  • What pelvic floor physical therapists do you work with, and do they take my insurance?

The bottom line

If leakage, urgency, or frequent bathroom trips are affecting your daily life, starting with a California urologist who has deep experience in incontinence — rather than a general practice — gives you faster access to the full menu of treatments. Use this list to find someone whose subspecialty matches your situation, and ask your primary care doctor or OB-GYN for a formal referral if your insurance requires one.

Sources

  1. 1.
    Fourth international consultation on incontinence recommendations of the international scientific committee: Evaluation and treatment of urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and fecal incontinence — Neurourology and Urodynamics, 2009. DOI
  2. 2.
    DIAGNOSING BLADDER OUTLET OBSTRUCTION IN WOMEN — The Journal of Urology, 1999. DOI
  3. 3.
    OnabotulinumtoxinA for the Treatment of Patients with Overactive Bladder and Urinary Incontinence: Results of a Phase 3, Randomized, Placebo Controlled Trial — The Journal of Urology, 2012. DOI
  4. 4.
    Efficacy and Safety of OnabotulinumtoxinA for Idiopathic Overactive Bladder: A Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled, Randomized, Dose Ranging Trial — The Journal of Urology, 2010. DOI
  5. 5.
    Detrusor Underactivity and the Underactive Bladder: A New Clinical Entity? A Review of Current Terminology, Definitions, Epidemiology, Aetiology, and Diagnosis — European Urology, 2013. DOI
  6. 6.
    Adult-Onset Hypogonadism — Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2016. DOI
  7. 7.
    The Use of HCG-Based Combination Therapy for Recovery of Spermatogenesis after Testosterone Use — The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2015. DOI
  8. 8.
    Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Rat Genes Encoding Homologues of Human β-Defensins — Infection and Immunity, 1999. DOI
  9. 9.
    The Role of Estrogen Modulators in Male Hypogonadism and Infertility. — eScholarship (California Digital Library), 2016. DOI
  10. 10.
    Understanding Patient Anxieties in the Social Media Era: Qualitative Analysis and Natural Language Processing of an Online Male Infertility Community — Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2020. DOI
  11. 11.
    Female Sexual Dysfunction and the Placebo Effect — Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2018. DOI
  12. 12.
    Benign Cystic Lesions of the Vagina: A Literature Review — The Journal of Urology, 2003. DOI
  13. 13.
    Patients’ Understanding of Pelvic Floor Disorders — Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, 2012. DOI
  14. 14.
    The Truth Behind Transvaginal Mesh Litigation: Devices, Timelines, and Provider Characteristics — Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, 2017. DOI
  15. 15.
    Reducing Operating Room Turnover Time for Robotic Surgery Using a Motor Racing Pit Stop Model — World Journal of Surgery, 2017. DOI
  16. 16.
    Grading pelvic prolapse and pelvic floor relaxation using dynamic magnetic resonance imaging — Urology, 1999. DOI
  17. 17.
    Sacral Neuromodulation for the Symptomatic Treatment of Refractory Interstitial Cystitis: A Prospective Study — The Journal of Urology, 2003. DOI
  18. 18.
    Results of a prospective, randomized, multicenter study evaluating sacral neuromodulation with InterStim therapy compared to standard medical therapy at 6‐months in subjects with mild symptoms of overactive bladder — Neurourology and Urodynamics, 2014. DOI
  19. 19.
    Endometriosis of the urinary tract — Urologic Clinics of North America, 2002. DOI
  20. 20.
    Surgical treatment of stress incontinence in men — Neurourology and Urodynamics, 2009. DOI
  21. 21.
    Intracellular Bacterial Communities: A Potential Etiology for Chronic Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms — Urology, 2015. DOI
  22. 22.
    Trends in Surgical Management of Stress Urinary Incontinence Among Female Medicare Beneficiaries — Urology, 2009. DOI
  23. 23.
    Fear and Frustration among Women with Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: Findings from Patient Focus Groups — The Journal of Urology, 2021. DOI
  24. 24.
    The Risk of Recurrent Urinary Incontinence Requiring Surgery After Suburethral Sling Removal for Mesh Complications — Urology, 2017. DOI
  25. 25.
    Rapid diagnostic testing in the management of urinary tract infection: Potentials and limitations — Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2019. DOI
  26. 26.
    Diagnostic Performance of Ultrasound in Nonpalpable Cryptorchidism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis — PEDIATRICS, 2010. DOI
  27. 27.
    Diagnostic imaging in cryptorchidism: utility, indications, and effectiveness — Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 2011. DOI
  28. 28.
    Cumulative incidence of outcomes and urologic procedures after augmentation cystoplasty — Journal of Pediatric Urology, 2014. DOI
  29. 29.
    Uropathogen Resistance and Antibiotic Prophylaxis: A Meta-analysis — PEDIATRICS, 2018. DOI
  30. 30.
    Work-up of Pediatric Urinary Tract Infection — Urologic Clinics of North America, 2015. DOI

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