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The scent of Ethiopia: a personal story part 2

In May/June 2016 we featured a wonderful account of Zeeshan Aslam’s first trip with Urolink to the Hawassa Referral Hospital in Ethiopia (see here). One year on we are delighted that Zeeshan has once again taken the time to provide...

The surgical trainer – are we still evolving?

“We need a system and we will surely have it – which will produce not only surgeons, but surgeons of the highest type” William Halsted MD William Halsted, a famous American surgeon, is widely credited with developing the first formal...

Why bother? Metabolic screening for stone formers

Introduction Despite the considerable increase in the incidence of stone disease in the UK and elsewhere in recent years, urologists have engaged with preventative strategies to only a limited degree. With mounting evidence of the strong correlation between obesity and...

What’s in a name?

Kate Granger is a doctor and the founder of the #hellomynameis campaign; she is also a cancer patient. In this article she explains why she started the campaign, and why patient-centred care starts with an introduction. Chris and me the...

Bladder cancer – an overshadowed ‘volcano’

Bladder cancer has often been overshadowed by the limelight of prostate cancer. However, of all the urological cancers, bladder cancer is the only one which has shown a slight decline in age-standardised five-year survival rates over the last couple of...

Modern management of small renal masses

With the advent of widespread cross-sectional imaging there has been a surge in incidental detection of small renal masses (SRMs) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is now the seventh most common cancer in the UK. Whilst surgical excision for larger...

Prostate cancer nurse specialist shortage: a view from the coal face

Prostate Cancer UK recently reported that there is an impending crisis for men with prostate cancer, simply because the number of nurse specialists available is insufficient for their needs [1]. Background As has been widely reported, the incidence of prostate...

A guided guide to the guide wire

The use of guide wires has become a core skill utilised by urologists, especially within the field of endourology. The authors take us through the development of the guide wire and their current use in urology. The history The first...

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,...

The process of medical innovation – evolving trends and future perspectives

In 2018 the United Kingdom Government spending on healthcare totalled almost £166 billion. Of this approximately 65% was attributed to providing curative or rehabilitation therapy, with health-related long-term care and provision of goods accounting for 25%. The remaining was accredited...

Assessment of the incidental adrenal lesion

Introduction The adrenal glands are seen on CT or MRI surrounded by fat in the peri-renal space. The right adrenal gland lies medial to the right lobe of the liver, lateral to the right crus of the diaphragm and superior...