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The doctor as the patient: receiving bad news

This article, written by a GP working in the NHS, gives a unique insight into the experience of being a urology patient and some thoughtful advice on ‘breaking bad news’. Day 1 Alarm bells ring. It’s spotting an email from...

The Mitrofanoff procedure: a continent revolution

Prior to 1980, surgeons had been struggling to provide a catheterisable, continent channel as an alternative to the native urethra, primarily for paediatric patients with congenital neuropathic bladder. In 1980, Professor Paul Mitrofanoff described the continent supravesical antireflux appendicovesicostomy [1]...

Biomarkers in prostate cancer detection

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer in men with an estimated prevalence of 1.1 million worldwide in 2012. This heterogeneous disease resulted in approximately 307,000 deaths, making it the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in men...

Immunotherapy in renal cancer

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the sixth most common solid organ cancer in the UK. In 2018, there were 403,262 people diagnosed worldwide with the disease (2.2% of all cancer cases), and it accounted for 175,098 deaths in total (1.8%...

Penile cancer: a practical approach

Penile cancer is rare and accounts for less than 1% of all new cancer cases in males in the UK, with around 640 new cases diagnosed every year [1]. In England and Wales, the annual incidence is between 1.2 and...

Delivering a trainee-led Urolink educational programme – my experience in Tanzania

In May 2023, I travelled to Moshi, Tanzania, where I visited Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) – a trip which was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) Urolink and with the support...

An overview of daytime wetting in children

It is estimated that daytime wetting affects one in seventy-five children over the age of five years [1]. Daytime wetting is commoner in younger children (1 in 7 aged 4.5 years, 1 in 20 aged 9.5 years) [1]. Many younger...

Catheters and incontinence after radical prostatectomy: Preparing (but not scaring) men

Every year about 6000 men in the UK undergo radical prostatectomy (RP) for treatment of prostate cancer [1]. Despite surgical advances, RP continues to be associated with significant side-effects including urinary incontinence (UI) [2]. Immediately following removal of the urinary...

An algorithm for the management of haemorrhagic cystitis

Haemorrhagic cystitis (HC) can be one of the most difficult conditions to treat in urological practice. It is characterised by intractable bleeding from the bladder and may be acute or chronic. The most frequently reported causal factors are radiotherapy (RT)...

An update on erectile dysfunction guidelines and treatment options

Erectile dysfunction is defined as the persistent inability to attain and / or maintain an erection sufficient for sexual performance. Not only does this have a psychosocial impact, it also affects the quality of life of both the patients and...

Benign prostatic hyperplasia: what are the benefits and harms of various surgical management options?

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is characterised by stromal and epithelial prostatic cell hyperplasia. The enlarged prostate may be associated with voiding and storage lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). These have been predominantly attributed to bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), assumed to...

Prostate abscess

Prostate abscess (PA) is a relatively uncommon clinical condition which is often difficult to diagnose because clinical symptoms are non-specific. It may be associated with a significant fatality rate, estimated to be between 3% and 30%, which may reflect its...