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Expert list · Last reviewed April 17, 2026

Best Urologists in Texas

Six Texas urologists selected by published research, subspecialty focus, and institutional depth — spanning bladder cancer, prostate care, and incontinence.

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Texas has a deep bench of urologists whose clinical focus and research output place them among the most respected in the country, with Houston and San Antonio anchoring most of the specialty depth. The six urologists below practice in Houston and San Antonio, and each has contributed published research that shapes how common urologic problems — bladder cancer, prostate cancer, incontinence, kidney stones — are treated today.

Urology covers a wide range of issues, from an embarrassing leaky bladder to aggressive cancer care. The doctors on this list hold academic appointments at Houston Methodist, Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, and Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, and their work spans surgical innovation, drug trials, and the everyday management of conditions that millions of adults quietly live with. If your primary care doctor has suggested you see a urology specialist, this is a reasonable place to start your search.

Ashish Kamat, M.D.

Ashish Kamat, M.D.

Professor of Urology

Houston Methodist

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Houston Methodist | Houston, TX | Urologic oncology, bladder cancer

Dr. Kamat is a professor of urology in Houston with a long track record in bladder cancer research and clinical trial leadership. He treats patients across the full spectrum of urologic cancer, with particular depth in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer — the form where tumors have not yet grown into the bladder wall and where decisions about surveillance, BCG immunotherapy, and surgery can get complicated.

His published research, which spans more than 1,000 works over his career, has been cited tens of thousands of times by other bladder cancer researchers. If you have been diagnosed with bladder cancer and are trying to decide between close surveillance, intravesical therapy, or removal of the bladder, his practice is one where you are seeing a physician who has helped write the questions everyone else is trying to answer.

Houston Methodist Hospital | Houston, TX | Female pelvic medicine, urinary incontinence

Dr. Kobashi is a urologist at Houston Methodist whose clinical focus is female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. She treats women with urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, recurrent urinary tract infections, and complications from prior mesh surgery — a population whose symptoms often go underdiagnosed for years before reaching a specialist.

Her 2003 paper in The Journal of Urology on management of vaginal mesh sling erosion was a turning point 1. At the time, the default response to any mesh erosion was full surgical removal of the sling. Dr. Kobashi and her team reported four cases where watchful management led to spontaneous healing while preserving continence, a result that gave surgeons a less invasive option to consider first. A 2003 companion paper catalogued perioperative complications across the first 140 polypropylene slings her team placed, shaping how surgeons counsel patients on risk 3. More recently, she was senior author on a 2021 analysis from the Urologic Diseases in America Project that pinned down how many American women actually live with urinary incontinence 2. She has also contributed to trials of overactive bladder medications including solifenacin and darifenacin 45.

Seth Lerner, MD

Seth Lerner, MD

Professor of Urology

Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center

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Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center | Houston, TX | Urologic oncology, bladder cancer

Dr. Lerner is a professor of urology at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston, with a clinical practice centered on bladder, kidney, and prostate cancer. He has spent decades leading and contributing to national cooperative group trials, which is how new treatment protocols for bladder cancer move from idea to standard of care.

His research output — more than 700 published works — reflects a career spent at the center of bladder cancer science. For patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer weighing whether to pursue radical cystectomy, bladder-preserving chemoradiation, or enrollment in a clinical trial, his practice is one where the physician has helped design many of the trials that created today's options.

Daniel Saltzstein, MD

Daniel Saltzstein, MD

Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas

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Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas | San Antonio, TX | General urology, prostate cancer

Dr. Saltzstein practices in San Antonio with a general urology focus that includes prostate cancer management and overactive bladder care. He has been an active site investigator in industry-sponsored trials, which gives his patients access to new drugs before they reach general availability.

He contributed to the HERO trial, a 2020 New England Journal of Medicine study showing that oral relugolix — a pill-based androgen-deprivation therapy for advanced prostate cancer — suppressed testosterone faster than the standard injection and cut major cardiovascular events by 54 percent 6. For men with advanced prostate cancer and existing heart disease, that finding changed the conversation about which hormone therapy to start with. He also contributed to foundational overactive bladder research, including the OBJECT study comparing extended-release oxybutynin and tolterodine 810, and trials of transdermal oxybutynin 9 and once-daily controlled-release oxybutynin 7 — drugs that patients are still prescribed today.

Houston Methodist Hospital | Houston, TX | General urology

Dr. Goldfarb is a urologist at Houston Methodist Hospital whose practice covers kidney stones, urinary tract problems in pregnancy, prostate conditions, and general urologic care. His publication history is smaller than some of his peers but includes early contributions on how to manage urologic complications safely in specific high-risk populations.

He was first author on a 1989 paper in The Journal of Urology on managing acute kidney swelling during pregnancy with ureteral stenting, which flagged how the calcium-rich environment of pregnancy accelerates stone formation on stents and argued for a more conservative protocol 11. He has also contributed to work on kidney cancer genetics, including a paper identifying a chromosomal translocation linked to hereditary clear cell renal cell carcinoma 14, and on unusual infections including a case of prostatic abscess from disseminated histoplasmosis in an immunocompromised patient 15. His newer work includes a multicenter study of a non-invasive body contouring device 12 and earlier research on MRI localization of adrenal tumors 13.

Houston Methodist Hospital | Houston, TX | Urologic oncology, outcomes research

Dr. Satkunasivam practices at Houston Methodist Hospital with affiliations at Houston Methodist Baytown and Houston Methodist Clear Lake. His clinical focus is urologic oncology — bladder, kidney, and prostate cancer — and his research sits at the intersection of surgical outcomes and health services research.

He was senior author on a 2017 BMJ study of more than 100,000 patients that found female surgeons had slightly better postoperative outcomes than male surgeons across 25 common operations 16. A 2021 JAMA Surgery follow-up showed that female patients treated by male surgeons had worse outcomes, a finding that raised serious questions about how surgeon-patient match affects operating-room care 17. He also contributed to a 2017 Journal of Clinical Oncology analysis comparing radical cystectomy with bladder-sparing trimodal therapy — surgery versus radiation plus chemotherapy — for muscle-invasive bladder cancer 18, giving patients weighing organ preservation a real evidence base. His published work also spans immunotherapy response by sex 19 and a meta-analysis comparing surgery and radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer 20.

What to look for in a urology specialist

  • Board certification in urology from the American Board of Urology
  • Subspecialty focus that matches your condition — urologic oncology for cancer, female pelvic medicine for incontinence or prolapse, endourology for stones
  • Academic affiliation with a teaching hospital, especially if your case is complex or rare
  • Surgical volume, particularly for procedures like radical prostatectomy, cystectomy, or sling surgery, where experience tracks with outcomes
  • Whether they are accepting new patients, along with wait time for a first appointment
  • Insurance compatibility and whether the hospital they operate at is in your network

Questions to ask before your first appointment

  • How many patients with my condition do you treat each year?
  • If surgery is on the table, how many of these operations do you perform annually, and what are your complication rates?
  • What are the non-surgical options I should consider first?
  • Do you participate in clinical trials, and could I be a candidate for one?
  • Will you coordinate directly with my primary care doctor, oncologist, or gynecologist?
  • What does follow-up look like after treatment — who manages what, and for how long?

The bottom line

Texas has serious urology depth, especially in Houston. If your condition is straightforward — a kidney stone, a urinary tract issue, benign prostate symptoms — most board-certified urologists in the state can help you. For bladder cancer, advanced prostate cancer, complex pelvic floor surgery, or a situation where more than one organ is involved, it is worth asking your primary care doctor for a referral to one of the academic centers on this list, or to a specialist whose research history matches your problem. A second opinion is reasonable for anything that involves major surgery or a cancer diagnosis.

Sources

  1. 1.
    Management of Vaginal Erosion of Polypropylene Mesh SlingsThe Journal of Urology, 2003. DOI
  2. 2.
    Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence among a Nationally Representative Sample of Women, 2005–2016: Findings from the Urologic Diseases in America ProjectThe Journal of Urology, 2021. DOI
  3. 3.
    Perioperative Complications: The First 140 Polypropylene Pubovaginal SlingsThe Journal of Urology, 2003. DOI
  4. 4.
    Efficacy of solifenacin in patients previously treated with tolterodine extended release 4 mg: Results of a 12-week, multicenter, open-label, flexible-dose studyClinical Therapeutics, 2008. DOI
  5. 5.
    Darifenacin treatment for overactive bladder in patients who expressed dissatisfaction with prior extended-release antimuscarinic therapyInternational Journal of Clinical Practice, 2008. DOI
  6. 6.
    Oral Relugolix for Androgen-Deprivation Therapy in Advanced Prostate CancerNew England Journal of Medicine, 2020. DOI
  7. 7.
    ONCE DAILY CONTROLLED VERSUS IMMEDIATE RELEASE OXYBUTYNIN CHLORIDE FOR URGE URINARY INCONTINENCEThe Journal of Urology, 1999. DOI
  8. 8.
    Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of Extended-Release Oxybutynin Chloride and Tolterodine Tartrate in the Treatment of Overactive Bladder: Results of the OBJECT StudyMayo Clinic Proceedings, 2001. DOI
  9. 9.
    Efficacy and Safety of Transdermal Oxybutynin in Patients With Urge and Mixed Urinary IncontinenceThe Journal of Urology, 2002. DOI
  10. 10.
    Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of Extended-Release Oxybutynin Chloride and Tolterodine Tartrate in the Treatment of Overactive Bladder: Results of the OBJECT StudyMayo Clinic Proceedings, 2001. DOI
  11. 11.
    Management of Acute Hydronephrosis of Pregnancy by Ureteral Stenting: Risk of Stone FormationThe Journal of Urology, 1989. DOI
  12. 12.
    Ultrasound Assessment of Subcutaneous Abdominal Fat Thickness After Treatments With a High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic Field Device: A Multicenter StudyDermatologic Surgery, 2019. DOI
  13. 13.
    Localization of ectopic pheochromocytomas by magnetic resonance imagingThe American Journal of Medicine, 1987. DOI
  14. 14.
    A constitutional balanced t(3;8)(p14;q24.1) translocation results in disruption of the <i>TRC8</i> gene and predisposition to clear cell renal cell carcinomaGenes Chromosomes and Cancer, 2007. DOI
  15. 15.
    Prostatic Abscess Due to Histoplasma Capsulatum in a Patient with the Acquired Immunodeficiency SyndromeThe Journal of Urology, 1992. DOI
  16. 16.
    Comparison of postoperative outcomes among patients treated by male and female surgeons: a population based matched cohort studyBMJ, 2017. DOI
  17. 17.
    Association of Surgeon-Patient Sex Concordance With Postoperative OutcomesJAMA Surgery, 2021. DOI
  18. 18.
    Propensity Score Analysis of Radical Cystectomy Versus Bladder-Sparing Trimodal Therapy in the Setting of a Multidisciplinary Bladder Cancer ClinicJournal of Clinical Oncology, 2017. DOI
  19. 19.
    Association of Patient Sex With Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Overall Survival in Advanced CancersJAMA Oncology, 2019. DOI
  20. 20.
    Surgery Versus Radiotherapy for Clinically-localized Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysisEuropean Urology, 2015. DOI

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