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Is laparoscopic urological training in Sub-Saharan Africa a goal worth pursuing? Observations from my experience with IVUmed in Senegal

Laparoscopic surgery has developed at an unimaginable pace over the last three decades. The first laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed by Dr Phillip Mouret in France in 1987, with the first series of 63 cases published in 1989 [1]. However, its...

Benign prostatic hyperplasia: what are the benefits and harms of various surgical management options?

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is characterised by stromal and epithelial prostatic cell hyperplasia. The enlarged prostate may be associated with voiding and storage lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). These have been predominantly attributed to bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), assumed to...

Urethroplasty: a review of indications, techniques and outcomes

Urethral stricture is the most common cause of lower urinary tract obstruction in men aged between 20 and 40, carrying an estimated overall prevalence of 0.5% in the UK [1] and results in around 17,000 hospital admissions annually [2]. Endoscopic...

The role of specialist therapeutic radiographers in the treatment and care of men with prostate cancer

The Statement of Intent: Cancer Strategy for England: 2015-2020 indicates that the number of people diagnosed with cancer each year will continue to grow rapidly due to the ageing population. There is also a requirement to diagnose and offer patients...

Management of recurrent cystitis

Acute uncomplicated infective cystitis is most commonly seen in healthy women with a frequency of around 0.5-0.7 episodes per woman per year [1]. Around 10% of women report having had an episode of urinary tract infection (UTI) each year and...

Neuromodulation for lower urinary tract dysfunction – an ICS update

Non-invasive and invasive electro-stimulation techniques have been extensively studied in the treatment of lower urinary tract and bowel dysfunction, including overactive bladder syndrome (OAB), non-obstructive chronic urinary retention, faecal incontinence and chronic pelvic pain. Currently, the most common indication for...

The burning issue of urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) occur when bacteria colonise and proliferate in the urinary tract. These are characterised by specific clinical symptoms (dysuria, suprapubic tenderness, urgency and urinary frequency) which commonly occur alongside the finding of bacteriuria. UTIs are common –...

Pyonephrosis: is the kidney always doomed?

Pyonephrosis (Greek pyon ‘pus’ + nephros ‘kidney’) is defined in Campbell-Walsh Urology [1] as an infected hydro-nephrosis associated with suppurative destruction of the renal parenchyma which results in total or near total loss of renal function. The true incidence of...

Sexual dysfunction following prostate cancer treatment

Prostate cancer is common with over 52,300 new cases diagnosed annually in the UK; this is expected to rise by 15% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040 [1]. Radical prostatectomy continues to be the most common form of radical treatment for men...

Using cryopreserved prepubertal testis tissues – are we getting warmer?

The rising incidence of childhood cancer coupled with increasing survivorship means there is a growing population of childhood cancer survivors with unmet health needs. In the UK around 1 in 500 children and young people are survivors of childhood cancer....

The multidisciplinary team meeting: London calling!

The multidisciplinary team meeting, or MDT, is the foundation of cancer management in the UK. The MDT consists of a group of experts in different fields of medicine and surgery coming together at regular intervals to discuss the diagnosis and...