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The microbial syndicate: dysbiosis and origins of recurrent UTIs

Traditional dogma held that urine was sterile. However, recent molecular studies have revealed an underground microbial community, known as the urinary microbiome or ‘urobiome’ [1]. Far from being harmful, this community of microorganisms helps modulate immune responses, regulate inflammation, and...

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...

Intravesical GAG replacement therapies for bladder pain syndrome / interstitial cystitis – an update

The barrier function of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer of the urothelium was identified by Parsons in 1975, and intravesical therapies to treat chronic inflammatory conditions of the bladder were developed soon after. However, the active role of the urothelium in...

Robotic assisted perineal prostatectomy: descriptive technique of the inaugural case in the UK

Robotic surgery has taken full flight in the USA since its start in 2000 [1] and is replacing procedures where open surgical techniques were solely employed. While this technology is met with criticism over the costs, the superiority of robotic...

A report from the second laparoscopic urology workshop in Dakar, Senegal

Hôpital Général Idrissa Pouye (HOGIP), formerly Hôpital Général de Grand Yoff – HOGGY), in Dakar, Senegal, is one of the most well-regarded teaching hospitals in West Africa. It has over 300 beds, a urology team of six consultants and attracts...

The influences on Sir Henry Thompson

In this series of articles I am going to show you some of the exhibits contained in the Museum of Urology, hosted on the BAUS website (www.baus.org.uk). In the second history column I wrote for Urology News, way back in...

Urological etymology

In this series of articles I am going to show you some of the exhibits contained in the Museum of Urology, hosted on the BAUS website (www.baus.org.uk). I’ve always found the derivation of names fascinating. Anatomy lessons were made so...

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,...