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An update on robotic surgery in urology

The early adoption of new technology has long been a trademark of urological surgeons. Like the introduction of the cystoscope, lasers and flexible endoscopy, the field of urology has witnessed a revolutionary transformation with the advent of robotic surgery. Robotic-assisted...

Nocturnal enuresis in children

Introduction Nocturnal enuresis is the complaint of bedwetting. The 2010 National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines define bedwetting as the “involuntary wetting during sleep without any inherent suggestion of frequency of bedwetting or pathophysiology” [1]. Bedwetting is...

Lasers in benign prostatic hyperplasia

Clinical benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) impacts on the quality of life of many men. It is intimately related to ageing, but exact calculations of its prevalence remain difficult since an accurate clinical definition still eludes us. Histological BPH has been...

Medical statistics for urologists: part 3 – diagnostic testing

Following on from the first two parts of this series (see Part 1 here, and Part 2 here), this final article aims to demonstrate how the theory of statistics applies to medical diagnostics. Probability in diagnostic testing Diagnostic tests refer...

Cutting-edge or over-hyped? Evaluating the role of robotic surgery in the management of renal cell carcinoma

The quest for a minimally-invasive approach to major abdominal surgery finds its roots at the start of the previous century, when Georg Kelling first described the technique of ‘ceolioscopy’ to inspect intraabdominal organs in 1901 [1]. Since those early days,...

OCERT: a new multi-specialty project to standardise robotic surgical training

Since its introduction by Dr William Osler in 1890 to the Board of Trustees at John Hopkins Hospital [1], the Halstedian ‘See one, do one, teach one’ has represented a guideline for surgeons worldwide, both for open and laparoscopic surgery,...

Burnout: an increasing problem in urology

“What we mean, man,” said Chuck forcefully, “is this: how can we care for patients if nobody cares for us?” – Samuel Shem, The House of God, 1978. Samuel Shem’s (Steven Bergman, MD) satirical novel The House of God, has...

The Mitrofanoff procedure: a continent revolution

Prior to 1980, surgeons had been struggling to provide a catheterisable, continent channel as an alternative to the native urethra, primarily for paediatric patients with congenital neuropathic bladder. In 1980, Professor Paul Mitrofanoff described the continent supravesical antireflux appendicovesicostomy [1]...