Interstitial Cystitis Subtypes

Urologists typically group Interstitial Cysititis (IC) in to 2 broad subtypes:

Ulcerative (or Hunner’s Lesions)
Non-Ulcerative

Dr. Christopher Payne, an American urologist, attempted to go beyond the 2 broad subtypes. He is considered to be an expert on Interstitial Cystitis (IC). He attended Vanderbilt University for medical school, and he completed a urology residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After completing a fellowship in Female Urology, Urodynamics, and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery at UCLA , Dr. Payne was recruited by Stanford University to begin a new program in Female Urology and NeuroUrology. He later held a position as Professor of Urology until his retirement from Stanford in 2014 as an Emeritus Professor. After retiring from Stanford, Dr. Payne’s began practicing medicine with Dr. Jeannette Potts at Vista Urology and Pelvic Pain Partners; however, in December of 2021, they announced that they were closing Vista Urology and Pelvic Pain Partners.

Even though Dr. Payne’s practiced closed, he is nationally recognized as a leader on Interstitial Cystitis. His clinical research has been recognized through 2 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants that focused on treatment of Interstitial Cystitis. He has been recognized by Castle-Connolly as one of America’s Top Doctors for ten consecutive years. The Castle-Connolly recognition in medicine is considered by physicians to be the only legitimate recognized category of excellence in American medicine.

Dr. Christopher Payne has suggested there are 5 subtypes of IC.

Hunner’s Lesions
Bladder Centric Phenotype
Myofascial Pain Phenotype
Neuralgia Phenotype
Multiple Pain Disorders / Functional Somatic Syndrome / Central Sensitization Syndrome

According to Dr. Payne, there may be overlap between the subtypes and many other subtypes are possible. For more details about each subtype, please click on the link below.

https://www.ic-network.com/downloads/icsubtypefactsheet0817.pdf

[Source: Payne C. A New Approach To Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndromes: Applying Oncologic Principles To ‘Benign’ Conditions. Current Bladder Dysfunct Rep. Topical Collection on Pelvic Pain. March 2015 © 2017 – IC Network -Rev. 08/17 jho]