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Stereotactic body radiotherapy for oligometastatic disease secondary to urological cancer

The concept of oligometastatic disease is controversial. The traditional model of cancer, which most of us learnt at medical school, is of a disease which starts confined to an organ, for example the prostate, where it can be cured with...

Radiological appearances of renal vascular anatomical variants

The purpose of this article is to explain and illustrate common renal vascular variants that can be depicted with imaging. Renal vessels commonly present a wide range of variations [1]; before major renal or vascular surgery is undertaken, accurate portrayal...

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]...

Guide to gaining approval for a clinical study

This article focuses on gaining approval for clinical research involving NHS patients, although the principles can be applied to other types of research. It can be quite a daunting process for the uninitiated applicant. Often it can be made less...

Pyonephrosis: is the kidney always doomed?

Pyonephrosis (Greek pyon ‘pus’ + nephros ‘kidney’) is defined in Campbell-Walsh Urology [1] as an infected hydro-nephrosis associated with suppurative destruction of the renal parenchyma which results in total or near total loss of renal function. The true incidence of...

Intravesical GAG replacement therapies for bladder pain syndrome / interstitial cystitis – an update

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...

Is laparoscopic urological training in Sub-Saharan Africa a goal worth pursuing? Observations from my experience with IVUmed in Senegal

Laparoscopic surgery has developed at an unimaginable pace over the last three decades. The first laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed by Dr Phillip Mouret in France in 1987, with the first series of 63 cases published in 1989 [1]. However, its...

Prostate cancer in men of African heritage: understanding the risk and prognostic factors

Prostate cancer (PCa) represents a major public health concern and is recognised as one of the most common cancers worldwide, accounting for a significant proportion of cancer-related deaths. It is the second most common malignancy among men globally after lung...

The microbial syndicate: dysbiosis and origins of recurrent UTIs

Traditional dogma held that urine was sterile. However, recent molecular studies have revealed an underground microbial community, known as the urinary microbiome or ‘urobiome’ [1]. Far from being harmful, this community of microorganisms helps modulate immune responses, regulate inflammation, and...