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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...

MRI screening for prostate cancer: a step towards a ‘prostagram’

The UK National Screening Committee has been calling for further research into alternative screening tests for prostate cancer. The committee decided against prostate cancer screening using prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing on the basis that “PSA is still a poor...

Can dogs smell prostate cancer?

For centuries we have known that man’s best friend has an exceptional sense of smell. ‘Sniffer’ dogs are found in a wide range of roles, including drug and explosive detection as part of airport security, helping emergency services locate survivors...

Renal calculi: the role of imaging in pregnancy

Nephrolithiasis is the most common cause of non-obstetric abdominal pain in pregnancy. Accurate diagnosis is imperative as stone related complications can lead to pre-eclampsia, urosepsis, and premature labour [1,2]. In the general population, non-contrast cross sectional imaging is recommended by...

Understanding Stauffer’s syndrome

Who was Stauffer and what is Stauffer’s syndrome? Maurice Stauffer (1915-1994) was a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, United States, and in 1961 first characterised the non-metastatic, paraneoplastic effects of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) on liver size and...

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...

Klinefelter’s syndrome

Klinefelter’s syndrome (KF) is the most frequent sex chromosome abnormality with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 500 to 1 in 700 newborn males and 1 in 10 in men with azoospermia. While the majority of cases are an XXY...

(Not very) clean intermittent self catheterisation

In a small room near the operating theatre of the London Hospital sometime in the 1880’s, a surgeon slips off his outdoor frock coat. From his pocket he pulls a silver curved catheter, spits on it and nonchalantly passes it...