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Establishing the Southwest Catheter Skills Course – a closed loop quality improvement project

The General Medical Council states that foundation year doctors should be able to carry out male and female urethral catheterisation safely under direct supervision [1]. A 2014 survey of medical students demonstrated that 40% and 64% had never performed male...

Recent developments in bladder cancer – NMIBC

Every year, roughly 10,300 individuals are diagnosed with bladder cancer in the UK, making it the 11th most common cancer in the UK, and the eighth most common cancer in men [1]. Of those diagnosed with the disease, 75-85% will...

Metastatic spinal cord compression – a review

Introduction Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) is an oncological emergency that, unless diagnosed early and treated appropriately, can lead to significant morbidity and mortality, including paralysis and bladder and bowel dysfunction. MSCC can be defined as spinal cord or cauda...

Patient decision aids in the management of stress urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence is a common condition faced by up to 20-50% of women, which impairs quality of life and poses a significant socioeconomic burden to both the individual women involved and more widely to the NHS [1]. The overall cost...

Overview of partial nephrectomy techniques: influence of technology

Traditionally, radical nephrectomy was the preferred operation for kidney cancer, while partial nephrectomy was reserved for specific circumstances and essential indications such as a tumour in a solitary kidney, bilateral kidney tumours, or severe chronic kidney disease (CKD). Given the...

The importance of active investigation and follow-up in bladder injury

Bladder injury (BI) is uncommon, and patients are typically managed by large multidisciplinary teams, dealing concomitantly with other injuries or diagnoses. BI can be categorised by cause (traumatic vs. iatrogenic) or anatomical location (intraperitoneal vs. extraperitoneal), requiring differing approaches to...

Dr Glaucomflecken: Stayin’ Alive

Peter Cackett spoke to ophthalmologist and social media sensation Dr Glaucomflecken about his early days in comedy, the role satire can play in impacting medical governance, and where he might take his brand of medical comedy next. It was towards...

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...