Israel Franco, MD

Israel Franco, MD, a pediatric urologist with Yale Medicine Urology, is an expert who specializes in treating bedwetting and daytime “accidents” in young people. Dr. Franco has devoted his career to finding solutions for children and adolescents who are struggling with urinary incontinence issues. “I see my patients as interesting intellectual puzzles,” says Dr. Franco. “They’re so complicated, and it’s so rewarding trying to figure out where the problem lies.”

Dr. Franco is the director of the Yale Medicine Pediatric Bladder & Continence Program for children and adolescents ages 5 to 21. It’s the first and largest program of its kind in southern Connecticut. Also a professor of pediatric urology at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Franco is passionate about solving the many causes of bladder issues. “We can pretty much stop anyone from wetting,” he says. “It just depends on how far parents want to go with treatment.” Potential solutions range from physical therapy to medications to surgery.

An active researcher, Dr. Franco conducts clinical trials to investigate innovative solutions for patients with difficult-to-treat bladder issues, including one exploring the use of Botox to help incontinent children. Another upcoming trial will study the effectiveness of a “potty alarm” to wake children who sleep so deeply they fail to wake up in time to go to the bathroom at night.

“When I started out 25 years ago, no one was interested in the problems related to why kids wet their pants,” reflects Dr. Franco, who is proud that he and his team have changed all that. The program gives young patients specialized care to end embarrassing wetting accidents so that children and adolescents can gain both bladder control and life-changing confidence.