Here’s what your pediatrician isn’t telling you about VCUG.
Content Warning: The following passages contains descriptions of the medical procedure known as voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) that may be triggering for some readers. Please proceed with care.
It can be nerve-racking to make critical decisions for your child's medical care, especially as a first-time parent with little to no medical knowledge. Parents and caregivers are expected to trust the pediatric community to prioritize children’s health by ensuring their practice is safe and up to date.
From regular check-ups to health screenings, families must put their faith in medical professionals to keep their child’s best interests at heart. If your child’s doctor referred them for a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG), it’s imperative for families to learn the long-term risks that are missing from online resources to make the most informed decisions for their child’s medical care and long-term health.
Unfortunately, there is little information online regarding the real risks of VCUG, leaving many families in the dark about the serious long-term health risks and damaging psychological effects of VCUG in kids. As of 2023, the majority of online resources promote VCUG as the safe, painless “gold standard” procedure to diagnose bladder and kidney issues in children.
Keep reading to learn the truth about VCUG in children and the serious health risks associated with this standardized procedure in pediatric care.
What Is a Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG)?
While your pediatrician may reassure you that performing a VCUG on your child is entirely safe, warranted, and relatively risk-free, the Unsilenced survivors are here to share what should have been shared with our own caregivers all those years ago: the truth about VCUG, which is the reason why our Unsilenced Community exists today.
What Is the Purpose of a VCUG?
A voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) is a standard technique used to diagnose kidney and bladder problems in pediatric patients. VCUGs are most commonly used to diagnose vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), a disorder that causes urine to flow backward from the bladder to ureters and/or kidneys in infants and young children patients.
A VCUG exam provides visual imaging through ionizing radiation (x-ray) of the pediatric patient’s urethra and urinary bladder during urination (voiding).
How Is a VCUG Performed?
VCUG exams are generally performed in the radiology department of a hospital or clinic. The procedure can be broken down into the following steps:
The child will be asked to undress and lie down on the exam table.
The doctor will clean the child’s genitalia with soap and water.
The child will be asked to spread their legs wide so the physician can insert the catheter into their urethra.
The doctor will pump the child’s bladder full with a contrast agent.
The child will be asked to void themselves on the table.
The x-ray will provide imaging as the contrast dye passes through the child’s urinary system.
Is a VCUG Painful?
Yes. Put simply, countless testimonies from VCUG survivors consistently describe the pain during VCUG as moderately severe to severe.
“I screamed and cried even harder as they inserted the catheter,” one adult survivor recalls. “I still can remember the searing, stabbing pain…I'd flinch and try to slam my legs closed against the nurses holding them. I just remember looking down and seeing drops of blood.”
How do VCUG descriptions on official healthcare and government websites compare to the pain that survivors describe? Shockingly, the majority of medical organizations claim the polar opposite of survivors’ pain during VCUG.
“This test isn't painful, and you won't feel anything when the X-rays are taken,” reads a VCUG page on the Alberta government website.
“As the nurse inserts the catheter, your child will feel some discomfort and pressure,” says the Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children. “Many [children] say it is simply uncomfortable. Once the catheter is in place, your child probably won’t feel it is there.”
“With any medical intervention, the benefits must outweigh the risks in order to proceed,” says VeryWell Health. (If this were true, survivors must be wondering why they were forced to endure this childhood torture at all, as risks substantially outweighed the cons in many survivors’ cases.) “Fortunately, VCUG is a very low-risk examination.”
But is it?
According to decades-long research and surveys, there are many risks and associated complications of VCUG in pediatric care, none of which are listed on the majority of professional medical websites—with the exception of ionizing radiation, of course.
Although Boston Children’s Hospital and similar sites thoughtfully include radiation as the one (and often only) risk of VCUG, it’s worth noting that children’s developing tissues and bodily organs are approximately 10-fold more sensitive to ionizing radiation than adults.
“Mean risks for hereditary effects and cancer after VCUG during childhood have been estimated at 15 per million and 125 per million, respectively,” says the International Journal Urology. “Thus, radiation risks associated with VCUG are not negligible.” Another study showed that VCUG is associated with an increased risk of cancer, especially in the genitourinary system.
Again, our Unsilenced Community cannot stress enough how baseless, misleading, and outright untrue such ambiguous claims are. Don’t take our word for it—take it from the fellow survivors who have experienced serious pain during and after the VCUG procedure. Many survivors go on to experience complications and chronic pain as a result of VCUG, including:
Pelvic pain
Vaginismus
Pain with sexual intercourse
Painful bodily sensations in PTSD flashbacks
Chronic pain from autoimmune diseases and other health conditions
Pain during medical examinations, especially those involving reproductive health
Join the Fight to End Child Sexual Abuse in Pediatrics
Every VCUG survivor has a story worth listening to. While our personal journeys are unique, our origin stories are very much the same: it all started when adults failed to protect us as children, leading to impaired health and quality of life. If you’re interested in learning more about VCUG, you’re in the right place. Join the Unsilenced movement to ban VCUG and protect the health and safety of children who deserve better care.
Thank you so much for this website exposing the terrible truth.