All News

Developments in laparoscopy, robotics, and other minimally invasive urologic techniques continue to evolve at a rapid pace.

While urologists continue to search for the most effective means of treating BPH and lower urinary tract symptoms, research presented at the 2007 AUA annual meeting suggests that drugs they may already be prescribing for other conditions could provide a novel solution.

The array of devices and procedures available to treat urinary incontinence and bladder dysfunction appears to be growing nonstop.

The AUA take-home messages on management of advanced prostate cancer underscore research interest in better defining the risks and benefits of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and provide some encouragement that new methods for treatment and evaluation will be available in the future to fill important gaps.

Among the studies presented at this year's AUA annual meeting, Glenn M. Preminger, MD, considered these to be among the most noteworthy presentations in the field of nephrolithiasis.

While it does not affect the vast majority of male infertility patients, a subgroup of men with disrupted hormonal axes and/or hypogonadism should be worked up for the presence of osteopenia.

The AUA take-home messages on management of localized prostate cancer.

In the area of sexual dysfunction, tomorrow arrived a little earlier than many attendees of the AUA annual meeting may have anticipated.

Patients with apparent interstitial cystitis need thorough workups, and they're not always getting them.

Prostate cancer patients treated by highly experienced surgeons are much more likely to be cancer-free 5 years after surgery than patients treated by surgeons with less experience, according to a study to be published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Based on the relative risk to siblings, 80% of kidney cancer cases are likely to occur in 20% of the population with the highest genetic risk, indicating the importance of further investigation of genetic factors in cancer prevention, according to a European multicenter, case-control study.

High intake of cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli and cauliflower, may be associated with reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer, particularly extraprostatic disease, suggests a study to be published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Two urologists have been appointed to new positions at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington. Stephen Strup, MD, has been appointed as chief of the division of urology, and Randall Rowland, MD, as CEO and president of the The Markey Cancer Foundation.

LocumTenens.com, a full-service physician/certified registered nurse anesthetists recruiting firm, has added urology to the list of surgical subspecialties staffed by the firm's surgery division.

Postoperative bleeding is a troublesome complication that can occur following virtually any type of urologic procedure. Prevention is the ideal treatment whenever possible. However, given the complexity and learning curve of many procedures, bleeding complications can and do occur.

Results of a retrospective, inter-institutional study comparing outcomes of patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder highly favor the use of an extended template for bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) when performing radical cystectomy.

The primary message from a study evaluating long-term urothelial recurrence and disease-specific survival after radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma is that there remains a critical need for better methods to enable early diagnosis.

Patients with a relatively small volume of low-grade upper tract transitional cell carcinoma can be managed by purely endoscopic means over a long period of time.

A two-step transurethral resection (TURB) procedure in patients with superficial transitional bladder cancer, already part of practice guidelines in Germany, appears to improve patient outcomes by identifying positive tumor beds that may require a second TURB.

It may be time to update treatment guidelines for transitional cell carcinoma.

Unless Congress steps in again, physicians participating in the Medicare program will see their fees reduced by an average of 9.9% for 2008, a move that already has prompted a call for action from the American Medical Association.

Mountain View, CA-Percutaneous Systems' telescopic PercSys Accordion stone management device is a microcatheter equipped with a multi-fold film occlusion at the distal end. Once deployed, the occlusion conforms to and fills the ureter, preventing retrograde stone fragment migration into the kidney.

Many challenges face the group urology practice, but one issue that doesn't get much attention is the cultural challenge of mixing physicians from different generations.

The shift of surgical procedures from the hospital to physician-owned outpatient facilities has been the prevailing trend over the past 2 decades and will continue into the foreseeable future.

Increasing evidence has recently pointed toward a relationship between LUTS secondary to BPH and the presence of metabolic syndrome. This relationship has been supported by recent epidemiologic findings.

Adjuvant bacillus Calmette-Guerin appears to provide no benefit for improving the oncologic outcome of patients with upper tract transitional cell carcinoma undergoing nephroureterectomy.

A multi-institutional retrospective analysis has identified five variables that independently predict cancer-specific survival in patients with nonmetastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract.

As new AUA president, Paul Schellhammer, MD, has listed three primary priorities for the association in 2007-08: innovation (research), education, and application (health policy).

Recently released FDA regulations requiring current good manufacturing practices for dietary supplements take an important first step in ensuring the quality of supplements, but fall short of making manufacturers accountable for the products' safety and efficacy, according to urologists familiar with the regulations.

The real dilemma with supplements is shifting to how companies decide what ingredients they put into their products.