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All you need to know about percutaneous nephrolithotomy: supine versus prone and mini versus traditional

Introduction Since the first percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), the technique has undergone many innovations, including modifications in positioning, miniaturisation of instruments and combination with retrograde intra-renal surgery (see Table 1 for an outline of the history of the technique). Controversy has...

Imaging and surveillance in sporadic renal angiomyolipoma: how and when to monitor effectively

Renal angiomyolipoma (AML) are benign tumours, accounting for approximately 2–3% of all renal neoplasms [1]. Seventy percent of renal AMLs are sporadic, and 20–30% are associated with genetic aetiology. They are composed of smooth muscle, blood vessels, and adipose tissue....

Giggle incontinence – not a laughing matter!

For many decades, the condition of giggle incontinence (enuresis risoria, giggle micturition) has remained a rare and poorly understood condition. Patients (90% female) present in their teens, with the history revealing an issue for many years. It is debilitating and...

The impact of menopause on bladder symptoms

The menopause is a natural process of ageing when the ovaries completely stop producing reproductive hormones (oestrogen and other sex steroids), and there are no monthly periods for 12 consecutive months. It normally occurs between the ages of 45-55 years...

Urodynamics in review: stress urinary incontinence in women produced by the Urodynamics Committee of the ICS

Urodynamic studies (UDS) are the best tools to objectively assess the lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) of various aetiologies [1]. According to the general understanding and consensus of the medical community UDS should be performed only when they will change...

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...

Artificial intelligence in bladder cancer diagnostics

Bladder cancer (BCa), ranking as the 10th most common cancer worldwide, poses a significant health burden with high morbidity and mortality [1]. Timely tumour detection and accurate evaluation are crucial for effective management, as the prognosis is dependent on the...

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...

Botulinum toxin – from the sausage poison to urology

Botulinum toxin is the first biological toxin to be licensed for use in treating human disease and since its first therapeutic use in the early 1980s for strabismus has become widely used in the fields of ophthalmology, cosmetic surgery, migraine...

Management of recurrent cystitis

Acute uncomplicated infective cystitis is most commonly seen in healthy women with a frequency of around 0.5-0.7 episodes per woman per year [1]. Around 10% of women report having had an episode of urinary tract infection (UTI) each year and...

The PROMIS trial – time for multi-parametric MRI before a first prostate biopsy

Whilst the relatively random process of 12 core transrectal ultrasound guided (TRUS) prostate biopsy remains by far the most widely employed approach to prostate cancer diagnosis in the UK, its flaws as a standalone diagnostic strategy are increasingly apparent. TRUS-biopsy...