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Diving into unfamiliar water – volunteering in critical care

On the 14th and 15th floor of The Royal London Hospital lay rows of patients infected with COVID-19 battling for their lives at The Queen Elizabeth unit. In response to the pandemic, the hospital rapidly expanded their critical care facility...

Artificial penile pearls: what every Urologist should know!

Penile implants are inert objects placed beneath the skin of the penis through an incision. These are variously referred to as Yakuza beads, pearls, ball bearings, speed bumps, penile marbles, inserts, etc. The term ‘penile implant’ described here should not...

Metabolic screening and stone-prevention in urolithiasis patients

The incidence and prevalence of kidney stones is increasing [1,2]. Significant recurrence rates are noted with 14% of patients experiencing a further episode at one year, 35% at five years, and 52% at 10 years [3]. Over 10% of stone...

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...

Botulinum toxin – from the sausage poison to urology

Botulinum toxin is the first biological toxin to be licensed for use in treating human disease and since its first therapeutic use in the early 1980s for strabismus has become widely used in the fields of ophthalmology, cosmetic surgery, migraine...

Testing radical prostatectomy in men with prostate cancer and oligometastases to the bone: a randomised controlled feasibility study

Prostate cancer is the commonest cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer death in Western men [1]. The recent STAMPEDE data suggests a median survival of just 42.1 months in the control arm of metastatic men [2]. Current...

Physiotherapy first for pelvic floor dysfunction

Physiotherapy should be included in first-line management options for pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women [1,2]. Additionally, referral to physiotherapy is widely practised for the management of urinary incontinence in men, faecal incontinence, defecation disorders and various pelvic...

Surgical video – part 1: intraoperative video recording and storage

The use of digital technology has progressed in leaps and bounds and nowhere is this more apparent than in medicine and surgery. Footage of live surgery is now easily accessed on the internet or displayed at conferences. Thus, the 21st...

Marin Marais: Fiddling with bladder stones

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 known about Marin Marais’ musical composition describing his bladder stone operation for...

Dietary citrate substitution in urolithiasis patients

Stone formation is dependent on supersaturation of urinary salts and urinary crystal retention. Urinary promoters (protein aggregates, cell debris) and inhibitors (citrate, magnesium, urinary macromolecules such as glycosaminoglycans and proteins) are involved in the process of stone formation [1]. Hypocitraturia...

Reflections on 20 years as an Army Reserve doctor: live a life less ordinary

It seems a very short time ago that my predecessor recruited me into my regiment as a surgical senior house officer during a varicose vein operation in a cottage hospital in Stroud, informing me that I would be only the...