The barrier function of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer of the urothelium was identified by Parsons in 1975, and intravesical therapies to treat chronic inflammatory conditions of the bladder were developed soon after. However, the active role of the urothelium in...
Awareness of female genital mutilation (FGM) in European countries has increased over recent decades as a result of globalisation and migration of populations. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes FGM as procedures that involve partial or total removal of the...
Socioeconomic status as an established determinant of health and associated injustices is well recognised. Confronting these injustices and creating a fairer healthcare system is an ongoing challenge for many governments. In Scotland, the devolved government has created the Scottish Index...
This article will be of immense benefit to all of us involved in mortality and morbidity meetings and Clinical Governance, especially registrars and junior members of the team. The authors present data from the UK, USA and Europe. In prostate...
Following success in national selection, it soon dawns on the successful candidate that entry into higher surgical training (HST) requires more than a little clinical knowledge. The role requires administrative and organisational skills not hitherto called upon. This additional skill...
Since the 1980s patients with spinal dysraphism have had aggressive bladder management with clean intermittent catheterisation and anticholinergic therapy from early on in life. This strategy aims at improving lower and therefore upper urinary tract function thus decreasing the risk...
US News & World Report (USNWR) provide rankings on a wide range of topics (education, health, money, travel, cars and law firms). In terms of healthcare, they suggest that their rankings (based on metrics) are a tool that can help...
It has been a few years since my post on ‘Twitter for urologists’ was published in Urology News [1]. Given the continued rise of the platform, I thought it was time to revisit and expand on Twitter’s functionality. In this...
National Selection pits the best of the UK’s core surgical trainees (sorry – that includes EEC countries as well) against each other in a process that determines who is allowed to proceed into higher surgical training. For the successful, it...
Patients presenting for urological surgery range from the young and fit to the elderly with multiple, and often significant, coexistent diseases. This latter cohort can present a significant challenge in the perioperative period, sometimes irrespective of the type of surgery....
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected urological practice in many ways and at all levels. Social media has been set alight with the hashtag #NoTrainingTodayNoSurgeonsTomorrow highlighting the undesired consequences of the reduction in training opportunities. The impact has been considered by...
Case 1 A 76-year-old diabetic man with a long-term catheter presents to the Emergency Department with rigors and non-specific abdominal pain. He has an elevated white cell count (WCC) and C-reactive protein (CRP). An abdominal and pelvic CT scan was...