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Overview of partial nephrectomy techniques: influence of technology

Traditionally, radical nephrectomy was the preferred operation for kidney cancer, while partial nephrectomy was reserved for specific circumstances and essential indications such as a tumour in a solitary kidney, bilateral kidney tumours, or severe chronic kidney disease (CKD). Given the...

What’s in a name?

Kate Granger is a doctor and the founder of the #hellomynameis campaign; she is also a cancer patient. In this article she explains why she started the campaign, and why patient-centred care starts with an introduction. Chris and me the...

Bladder cancer – an overshadowed ‘volcano’

Bladder cancer has often been overshadowed by the limelight of prostate cancer. However, of all the urological cancers, bladder cancer is the only one which has shown a slight decline in age-standardised five-year survival rates over the last couple of...

Robotic assisted perineal prostatectomy: descriptive technique of the inaugural case in the UK

Robotic surgery has taken full flight in the USA since its start in 2000 [1] and is replacing procedures where open surgical techniques were solely employed. While this technology is met with criticism over the costs, the superiority of robotic...

Suprapubic catheterisation – a core surgical trainee’s perspective

Suprapubic catheters (SPCs) are in widespread usage in medical practice and this review will focus on the pre-assessment, indications, methods and complications that are associated with the insertion of an SPC. Although suprapubic catheter insertions may be done electively or...

Assessment and management of percutaneous nephrostomies

Nephrostomies are a valuable uroradiological intervention which enables drainage of the obstructed kidney, amongst other indications. Complications associated with nephrostomies following placement are not uncommon, with re-presentation to the emergency department or surgical emergency unit. In this review we will...

Introduction to prostate cryotherapy

Introduction Cryotherapy was first described by Dr James Arnott in 1850 where he used crushed ice and salt to get temperatures as low as -24oC, in the treatment of cervical and breast tumours [1]. The literature on prostatic cryotherapy dates...

The management of renal calculi – Pt 2

Renal calculi can be managed according to four treatment options: conservative management, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), flexible ureterorenoscopy (FURS) and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Having addressed conservative management and ESWL in the last edition of Urology News, the second article...

Recent developments in bladder cancer

There have been some exciting developments in bladder cancer over the last few years. Immunotherapy has prolonged survival in a proportion of patients with metastatic disease, with sustained efficacy in some. Advances in genetic analysis and molecular subtyping make personalised...

An introduction to research governance

Research is the process of acquiring new generalisable knowledge and should be fully integrated into healthcare work. There is a growing drive to encourage and further develop evidence-based practice in medicine so that staff and patients benefit from improved healthcare...