Tag: USANZ

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BAUS – BJUI – USANZ Joint Session at AUA 2024

March 13, 2024/by Admin

Urological Management has Impact

Saturday, May 4th 1:00 – 4.00 PM
Room 207, Henry B. González Convention Center

1300	Welcome from Jose Karam, AUA Associate Secretary for Europe, Middle East, Africa regions
Session 1 CHAIRS: Helen O’Connell, Vaibhav Modgil
1305–1320	What is the environmental impact of disposable scopes in urology Gregory Jack, Melbourne, Australia
1325–1340	New developments in managing UTI: Impacting unmet need Mehwash Nadeem, Middlesbrough, UK (BJUI Sponsored BAUS speaker)
1345–1400	Staying ahead of the curve in Peyronies disease: The impact of prosthetics on andrology Maria Satchi, London, UK (BJUI Sponsored speaker)
1405–1420	Focal therapy in Prostate Cancer: Potential Impact Bishoy Hanna, Sydney, Australia
1425–1445	Afternoon tea
Session 2 CHAIRS: Jo Cresswell, Freddie Hamdy
1445–1515	Debate: The impact of location on provision of uro-oncology care Centralisation: Janelle Brennan, Bendigo, Australia Local delivery: Dickon Hayne, Perth, Australia (BJUI Sponsored USANZ speaker)
1520–1635	Reducing disease burden in prostate cancer Michael Gorin, New York, USA
1540–1555	Female urethral anatomy: impacting society and urological surgery Helen O’Connell, Melbourne, Australia
1600	BJUI Americas Award for authors based in The Americas presented by Freddie Hamdy, Editor-in-Chief BJUI

BAUS – BJUI – USANZ Joint Session at AUA 2023

March 28, 2023/by Admin

American influence on Global Urology: The Good, the Bad and the Indifferent

Sunday, April 30th 2:00 – 5.00 PM
Room N427 AB, McCormick Place Convention Centre North Building

Session 1 CHAIRS: Joe Philip, Nikita Bhatt
1405–1445	Ureteric Stones: Medical Expulsive therapy – Is the Jury still out? Dr. Necole Streeper, Associate Professor of Urology, Penn State Health, PA, USA Mr Angus Luk, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
1445–1510	Shockwave Lithotripsy for Renal & Ureteric stones: Cometh the hour Cometh the Norm: Post Covid Change in Clinical practice. Mr. Joe Philip, (BJUI Sponsored BAUS speaker). Consultant Urological Surgeon, Bristol Urological Institute, UK
1510–1535	Afternoon tea
Session 2 CHAIRS: Jo Cresswell, Alan McNeill, Michael Gorin
1535–1630	PSA Screening: Proactive or Counterproductive? Dr. Sigrid Carlsson, Assistant Attending Epidemiologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, USA Professor Hashim Ahmed, (BJUI Sponsored speaker). Chair of Urology, Imperial College, London, UK Dr. Renu Eapen, (BJUI Sponsored USANZ speaker). Consultant Urologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Victoria, Australia
1630–1640	Summary presentation Professor Hashim Ahmed, Chair of Urology, Imperial College, London
Session 3 CHAIRS: Jo Cresswell, Helen O’Connell, Michael Gorin
1640–1700	The 10 most important US contributions to Urology Dr. Nikita Bhatt, East of England Higher Specialist Trainee & BAUS Sponsored AUA Leadership Retreat Nominee, UK
1700-1705	BJUI Americas Award for authors based in The Americas presented by Alan McNeill, Chair BJU International
*1705-1900*	*BJUI Reception*

BJUI Annual Awards

July 10, 2019/by Admin

Trainees who have a paper accepted for publication in the BJU International Journal are eligible for one of the following three BJUI Journal Prizes, which are awarded annually, based on the authors’ geographical location when they conducted the research.

The BJUI Global prize

This is awarded to authors who are trainees based anywhere in the world other than the Americas and Europe. The prize is presented at the USANZ annual meeting. In 2019 the BJUI Global prize was presented to Dr Amila Siriwardana from St Vincent’s Prostate Cancer Centre in Sydney, Australia for his article: Initial multicentre experience of ⁶⁸gallium‐PSMA PET/CT guided robot‐assisted salvage lymphadenectomy: acceptable safety profile but oncological benefit appears limited.

The Coffey-Krane prize

The Coffey-Krane prize is awarded to authors who are trainees based in The Americas and it is presented at the AUA annual conference, which was held this year in Chicago. There were two winners this year: Jeffrey J. Tosoian and Meera R. Chappidi from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA for their work on: Prognostic utility of biopsy‐derived cell cycle progression score in patients with National Comprehensive Cancer Network low‐risk prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy: implications for treatment guidance.

The John Blandy prize

The John Blandy prize is awarded to authors who are trainees based in Europe. The prize is presented at the BAUS annual conference and the winner gives a presentation. The 2019 award was given to Isabel Rauscher from the Technical University of Munich in Germany, who gave a talk at the conference in Glasgow in June. Her article is entitled: Value of ¹¹¹In‐prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA)‐radioguided surgery for salvage lymphadenectomy in recurrent prostate cancer: correlation with histopathology and clinical follow‐up.

BJUI Vattikuti Foundation Robotics prize

This prize is a one-off prize awarded for the best robotics paper recently published in the BJU International Journal. The prize is sponsored by the Vattikuti Foundation and voted for by an independent panel. The research was carried out by a team from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea on: Does robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy benefit patients with prostate cancer and bone oligometastases?

BAUS/BJUI/USANZ Joint Session AUA 2019

April 8, 2019/by Admin

British Association of Urological Surgeons/BJU International/Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (BAUS/BJUI/USANZ) Joint Session AUA 2019

Sunday, May 5^th 2:00 – 5.00 PM. McCormick Place Convention Center South Building – Room S102 BC

Registries /Smart Data /Complications – CHAIR: Duncan Summerton
1400-1420	Alan Partin A contemporary look at biomarkers for diagnosis of Prostate Cancer
1420-1440	Chris Harding (BJUI sponsored BAUS lecture) The Mesh Story – lessons learned and future plans
1440-1500	Nick Watkin PROMs in Urology
1500-1520	Stephen Mark Big Data and Urology – a pilot trial in New Zealand
1520-1540	Afternoon tea
Education /Training /Innovation – CHAIR: Prokar Dasgupta
1540-1600	Andrew Hung (BJUI sponsored lecture) The emerging role of Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Science
1600-1620	Jonathan Kam Zero learning curve Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Access – Prone endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery and multimedia training aid to teach urology trainees
1620-1640	Madhu Koya (BJUI sponsored USANZ lecture) Cx bladder reduces flexible cystoscopy in haematura and superficial TCC
1640-1700	Kamran Ahmad Innovation in healthcare systems
1700-1705	BJUI Coffey-Krane Award for trainees based in The Americas presented by Prokar Dasgupta
*1700-1900*	*BJUI Reception*

“Is radiotherapy the work of the Devil?” – why we chose this title.

April 24, 2018/2 Comments/by Andrew Kneebone

With the recent electronic publication of our editorial written for the BJUI USANZ supplement, we have been somewhat surprised with the Twitter response our title has generated with some very strong opinions expressed. Why would a radiation oncologist, who happens to be the Chair of their National Genito-Urinary group (“FROGG”) propose such a provocative title? The BJUI editorial board wisely suggested that we explain the origin of this title which would be lost on many outside Australia.

In mid-2014, a leading Australian urologist quipped that adjuvant post-prostatectomy radiotherapy was “the work of the Devil” when referring to some of the severe complications that can occur following post-prostatectomy radiation. This comment has become “infamous” in Australian Radiation Oncology circles leading to extensive discussions and interactions between our specialties with urologists stating that radiotherapy complications can occur late and be very challenging to treat and radiation oncologists stating that these complications are relatively uncommon and that overall quality of life is as good if not better when going down the radiotherapy pathway. This is the climate that the article by Ma et al was submitted to the BJUI describing the impact of radiotherapy complications on a tertiary urology service in Melbourne Australia over a 6 month period.

I was impressed that the BJUI approached a radiation oncologist to provide balance on such a paper. We provocatively titled the editorial “Is Radiotherapy the work of the Devil?” and were hoping the response to anyone reading the editorial would be a resounding “No”. However, many have only seen “the headline” and not read the editorial itself which appears to have created offence especially from some of our international Radiation Oncology colleagues. The aim of such a title is that it will encourage people to read both the original article and the editorial which we feel provides a balanced view on the impact of radiotherapy complications in contemporary practice. We hope that in future, the response to our title: “Is Radiotherapy the work of the Devil” is “No – the Devil is in the detail”.

A/Prof Andrew Kneebone

Department of Radiation Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital and Chair of the Faculty Of Radiation Oncology Genito-Urinary Group (FROGG)

USANZ 2018: Melbourne

March 7, 2018/by Sophie Rintoul-Hoad

G’day! The 71^st annual USANZ Congress, was held in Melbourne and had the biggest attendance on record for the past 6 years. The Urological Nurse’s congress: ANZUNS ran concurrently, encouraging multi disciplinary learning. An excellent and varied educational programme was masterminded by Declan Murphy, Nathan Lawrentschuk and their organising committee. Melbourne provided a great backdrop and soon felt like home with a rich and busy central business district, cultural and sporting venues, the Yarra river flowing past the conference centre, edgy graffiti and hipster coffee shops, plus too many shops, bars and restaurants to visit.

The programme included a day of masterclasses on a range of subjects, including: urological imaging, advanced robotic surgery with a live case from USC, metastatic prostate cancer and penile prosthetics. These were well attended by trainees and consultants alike. The PCNL session (pictured) with Professor Webb was popular and he generously gave his expertise. The session was supported by industry and provided an opportunity to use the latest nephroscopes on porcine models and innovative aids to realistically practice different puncture techniques.

Two plenary sessions were held each morning covering the breadth and depth of urology and were well attended. Dr Sotelo is always a highlight; he presented, to an auditorium of collective gasps, a unique selection of ‘nightmare’ cases His cases gave insight in how intraoperative complications occur and how they can be avoided. Tips, such as zooming out to reassess in times of anatomical uncertainty during laparoscopy or robotic surgery have great impact when you witness the possible consequences. Tim O’Brien shared his priceless insights on performing IVC thrombectomy highlighting the need for preoperative planning, early control of the renal artery and consideration of pre-embolisation. His second plenary on retroperitoneal fibrosis provided clarity on the management of this rare condition highlighting the role of PET imaging and, as with complex upper tract surgery, the importance of a dedicated team.

Tony Costello’s captivating presentation covered several myths in robotic prostate surgery, plus the importance of knowing your own outcome figures and a future where robotics will be cost equivalent to laparoscopy. Future technology, progress in cancer genomics and biomarkers were also discussed in various sessions. One example of new technology was Aquablation of the prostate; Peter Gilling presented the WATER trial results suggesting non-inferiority to TURP. A welcome addition to the programme was Victoria Cullen (pictured), a psychologist and Intimacy Specialist who provides education, support and strategies for sexual rehabilitation. She described her typical consultation with men with sexual dysfunction and how to change worries about being ‘normal’ to focusing on what is important to the individual.

Joint plenary sessions with the AUA and EAU were a particular highlight. Prof Chris Chapple confirmed the need for robust, evidence guidelines which support clinical decision making; and in many cases can be used internationally. He suggested collaboration is crucial between us as colleagues and scientists working in the field of urology. Stone prevention and analysis of available evidence was described by Michael Lipkin; unfortunately stone formers are usually under-estimaters of their fluid intake so encouragement is always needed! Amy Krambeck presented evidence for concurrent use of anticoagulants and antiplatelets during BOO surgery and suggested there can be a false sense of security when stopping these medications as it isn’t always safe. She championed HoLEP as her method of BOO surgery and continues medications, although the evidence does show blood transfusion rate may be higher. She also uses a fluid warming device which has less bleeding and therefore improved surgical vision; importantly it is preferred by her theatres nurses! MRI of the prostate was covered by many different speakers, however Jochen Walz expertly discussed the limitations of MRI in particular relating negative predictive value (pictured). He eloquently explained the properties of cribiform Gleason 4 prostate cancer and how this variant contributed to the incidence of false negatives.

Moderated poster and presentation sessions showcased research and audit projects from the UK, Australia, New Zealand and beyond, mainly led by junior urologists. The best abstracts submitted by USANZ trainees were invited to present for consideration of Villis Marshall and Keith Kirkland prizes. These prestigious prizes were valiantly fought for and reflected high quality research completed by the trainees. Projects included urethral length and continence, no need for lead glasses, obesity and prostate cancer, multi-centre management of ureteric calculi, mental health of surgical trainees and seminal fluid biomarkers in prostate cancer. This enthusiasm for academia will undoubtedly stand urology in good stead for the future; this line up (pictured) is one to watch!

The Trade hall provided a great networking space to be able to meet with friends and colleagues and engage with industry. It also hosted poster presentation sessions, with a one minute allocation for each presenter – which really ensures a succinct summary of the important findings (pictured)! It was nice to meet with Australian trainees and we discussed the highs and lows of training and ideas for fellowships. Issues such as clinical burden and operative time, selection into the specialty, cost of training, burn out and exam fears were discussed and shared universally; however there is such enthusiasm, a passion for urology and inspirational trainers which help balance burdens that trainees face. Furthermore, USANZ ‘SET’ Trainees were invited to meet with the international faculty in a ‘hot seat’ style session which was an enviable opportunity to discuss careers and aspirations.

In addition to the Congress I was fortunate to be invited for a tour and roof-top ‘barbie’ at the Peter Mac Cancer centre; plus a visit to Adelaide with Rick (Catterwell, co-author) seeing his new hospital and tucking into an inaugural Aussie Brunch. Peter Mac and Royal Adelaide Hospital facilities indicated an extraordinary level of investment made by Federal and State providers; the Peter Mac in particular had impressive patient areas, radiotherapy suites and ethos of linking clinical and research. However beyond glossy exteriors Australian public sector clinicians voiced concerns regarding some issues similar to those we face in the NHS.

Despite the distance of travelling to Melbourne and the inevitable jet lag the world does feels an increasingly smaller place and the Urological world even more so. There is a neighbourly relationship between the UK, Australia and New Zealand as evidenced by many familiar faces at USANZ who have worked between these countries; better for the new experiences and teaching afforded to them by completing fellowships overseas. The Gala Dinner was a great chance to unwind, catch up with friends and celebrate successes in the impressive surrounding of Melbourne Town Hall (pictured); the infamous organ played particularly rousing rendition of Phantom of the Opera on arrival.

The enthusiasm to strive for improvement is similar both home and away and therefore collaboration both nationally and internationally is integral for the progress of urology. The opening address by USANZ President included the phrase ‘together we can do so much more’ and this theme of collaboration was apparent throughout the conference. The future is bright with initiatives led by enthusiastic trainee groups BURST and YURO to collect large volume, high quality data from multiple centres, such as MIMIC which was presented by Dr Todd Manning. Social media, telecommunications and innovative technology should be used to further the specialty, especially with research and in cases of rare diseases – such as RPF. Twitter is a tool that can be harnessed and was certainly used freely with the hashtag #USANZ18. Furthermore, utilisation of educational learning platforms such as BJUI knowledge and evidence based guidelines help to facilitate high quality Urological practice regardless of state or country.

So we’d like to extend a huge thank you to Declan, Nathan and the whole team, and congratulate them for a successful, educational and friendly conference; all connections made will I’m sure last a lifetime and enable us to do more together.

Sophie Rintoul-Hoad and Rick Catterwell

The 5th BJUI Social Media Awards

May 17, 2017/1 Comment/by Declan Murphy

It’s hard to believe that we have been doing the BJUI Social Media Awards for five years now! I recall vividly our inaugural BJUI Social Media Awards in 2013, as the burgeoning social media community in urology gathered in the back of an Irish Bar in San Diego to celebrate all things social. At that time, many of us had only got to know each other through Twitter, and it was certainly fun going around the room putting faces with twitter handles for the first time. That spirit continues today as the “uro-twitterati” continues to grow, and the BJUI Awards, (or the “Cult” Awards as our Editor-in-Chief likes to call them), remains a fun annual focus for the social-active urology community to meet up in person.

As you may know, we alternate the Awards between the annual congresses of the American Urological Association (AUA) and of the European Association of Urology (EAU). Last year, we descended on Munich, Germany to join the 13,000 or so other delegates attending the EAU Annual Meeting and to enjoy all the wonderful Bavarian hospitality on offer. This year, we set sail for the #AUA17 Annual Congress in Boston, MA, along with over 16,000 delegates from 100 different countries. What a great few days in beautiful Boston and a most welcome return for the AUA to this historic city. Hopefully it will have a regular spot on the calendar, especially with the welcome dumping of Anaheim and Orlando as venues for the Annual Meeting.

Awards

On therefore to the Awards. These took place on Saturday 13^th May 2017 in the City Bar of the Westin Waterfront Boston. Over 80 of the most prominent uro-twitterati from all over the world turned up to enjoy the hospitality of the BJUI and to hear who would be recognised in the 2017 BJUI Social Media Awards. We actually had to shut the doors when we reached capacity so apologies to those who couldn’t get in! Individuals and organisations were recognised across 12 categories including the top gong, The BJUI Social Media Award 2017, awarded to an individual, organization, innovation or initiative who has made an outstanding contribution to social media in urology in the preceding year. The 2013 Award was won by the outstanding Urology Match portal, followed in 2014 by Dr Stacy Loeb for her outstanding individual contributions, and in 2015 by the #UroJC twitter-based journal club. Last year’s award went to the #ilooklikeaurologist social media campaign which we continue to promote.

This year our Awards Committee consisted of members of the BJUI Editorial Board – Declan Murphy, Prokar Dasgupta, Matt Bultitude, Stacy Loeb, John Davis, as well as BJUI Managing Editor Scott Millar whose team in London (Max and Clare) drive the content across our social platforms. The Committee reviewed a huge range of materials and activity before reaching their final conclusions.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Most Read Blog@BJUI – “The optimal treatment of patients with localized prostate cancer: the debate rages on”. Dr Chris Wallis, Toronto, Canada

Most Commented Blog@BJUI – “It’s not about the machine, stupid”. Dr Declan Murphy, Melbourne, Australia

Most Social Paper – “Novel use of Twitter to disseminate and evaluate adherence to clinical guidelines by the European Association of Urology”. Accepted by Stacy Loeb on behalf of herself and her colleagues.

Best BJUI Tube Video – “Combined mpMRI Fusion and Systematic Biopsies Predict the Final Tumour Grading after Radical Prostatectomy”. Dr Angela Borkowetz, Dresden, Germany

Best Urology Conference for Social Media – #USANZ17 – The Annual Scientific Meeting of the Urological Association of Australia & New Zealand (USANZ) 2017. Accepted by Dr Peter Heathcote, Brisbane, Australia. President of USANZ.

Best Urology App – The EAU Guidelines App. Accepted by Dr Maria Ribal, Barcelona, Spain, on behalf of the EAU.

Innovation Award – BJUI Urology Ontology Hashtags keywords. Accepted by Dr Matthew Bultitude, London, UK, on behalf of the BJUI.

#UroJC Award – Dr Brian Stork, Michigan, USA. Accepted by Dr Henry Woo of Brian’s behalf.

Most Social Trainee – Dr Chris Wallis, Toronto, Canada

Best Urology Journal for Social Media –Journal of Urology/Urology Practice. Accepted by Dr Angie Smith, Chapel Hill, USA, on behalf of the AUA Publications Committee.

Best Urology Organisation – Canadian Urological Association. Accepted by Dr Mike Leveridge, Vice-President of Communications for CUA.

The BJUI Social Media Award 2017 – The Urology Green List, accepted by Dr Henry Woo, Sydney, Australia.

All the Award winners (except Dr Brian Stork who had to get home to work), were present to collect their awards themselves. A wonderful spread of socially-active urology folk from all over the world, pictured here with BJUI Editor-in-Chief, Prokar Dasgupta.

A special thanks to our outstanding BJUI team at BJUI in London, Scott Millar, Max Cobb and Clare Dunne, who manage our social media and website activity as well as the day-to-day running of our busy journal.

See you all in Copenhagen for #EUA18 where we will present the 6th BJUI Social Media Awards ceremony!

Declan Murphy

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia

Associate Editor, BJUI

@declangmurphy

The British are coming!

May 4, 2017/1 Comment/by Manoj Monga

Historians report that Paul Revere never said these famous words; as Colonial Americans at the time still considered themselves British. Indeed, Americans still consider themselves European. The United States Census reports that 73% of Americans are of European descent, and 62% of these are of English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish ancestry.

These links to our heritage remain strong. With >1100 European members (close to 200 from the UK) and >300 members from Australia and New Zealand, our bonds of friendship and collaboration are tightly intertwined. So if Paul Revere won’t say it, I will!

The British are coming! Each year >2000 Europeans attend our Annual meeting (200 from the UK) and >100 from Australia and New Zealand. They are represented not only in quantity but also in quality. Of the 1700 scientific abstracts submitted from Europe to the 2017 Annual meeting, the acceptance rate was 38% for the UK, compared to an overall acceptance rate of 34%. Important science comes from the UK and Australia, and raises the quality of our meeting.

The BAUS–BJUI–USANZ Joint Session on Sunday 14 May in Boston is a clear example of how the BJUI family, as the official journal of the USANZ and the BAUS ‘raises the bar’ at the AUA Annual Meeting. With focuses on personalised medicine, genomics, systems biology, immunotherapy, and ‘training the brain’, it promises to stimulate and educate. Following this we look forward to toasting our transatlantic brothers and sisters with a Boston Lager at the BJUI reception.

The British are coming! We look forward to welcoming you in Boston in May.

Manoj Monga, AUA Secretary

Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

Capitalising On Our Strengths: The 70th USANZ ASM

March 14, 2017/by admin Z.9

Canberra, our nation’s capital and the host city for the 2017 USANZ ASM, is a gem in its own right, but one which was created to satiate two feuding states locked in a bitter rivalry. In 1908, Canberra embodied the very meaning of compromise and collaboration, a technique which has garnered much success for our Country over the ensuing 100 odd years. Arguably the first official Australian collaborative effort, this way of thinking has become an almost uniquely Australian attribute and a strength imbued in our national pride.

Canberra from up high, a breathtaking backdrop for a fantastic USANZ ASM.

Given this year’s mantra of: “Capitalising on our strengths” It is perhaps fitting then, that the 70^th anniversary of the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ) Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) including the Australia and New Zealand Urological Nurses Society (ANZUNS) 22^nd ASM, should be held in such a location. In addition to providing some wonderful tourist opportunities for guests including the War Memorial, the National Gallery and Parliament House.

Convenors A/Prof Nathan Lawrentschuk and Kath Schubach went to great efforts to successfully welcome both national and international guests and Scientific Program Directors A/Prof Shomik Sengupta and Carla D’Amico ensured a star-studded academic program addressing contemporary updates in Urological evidence based practice, which were aptly discussed both inside and outside the confines of the National Convention Centre.

Senior YURO members standing outside Parliament House (from left to right): Dr. Daniel Christidis, Dr. Tatenda Nzenza, Dr. Todd Manning, Dr. Shannon McGrath

The representation by International faculty was exceptional, with countless urological household names from world leading centres across the globe both involved in the academic program and socially. Urological goliaths including Prof. Christopher Chapple, Prof. Prokar Dasgupta and Prof. Laurence Klotz weighed in on various topical issues providing an intercontinental perspective that complimented the equally impressive national line-up of speakers.

As with previous years, use of social media was rife, with those not able to attend kept in the loop via #Usanz17 and a steady stream from the ever focused twitterati. The ASM provided more than 5 million impressions and over 2800 individual tweets from more than 400 participants. The usual suspects were eminent as always, along with a few newcomers who provided impact in their own right. The official USANZ 2017 App also kept participants up to date via timely notifications and was user friendly.

Guests were spoilt for choice in the convention centre during well timed breaks, which was perpetually abuzz with attendees networking. In the background the ‘Talking Urology’ team headed by Mr Joseph Ischia and A/Prof Nathan Lawrentschuk provided a steady stream of captivating interviews with guests, regarding a myriad of urological topics. Simultaneously, numerous academics gave brief summaries of research posters during allocated presentation sessions. Exhibitors provided a captivating backdrop for these activities including many hands-on simulators and challenges for those keen to test their dextrous mettle. All the while guests relished a variety of delectable culinary options.

Guests networking at the Gala Dinner, whilst being entertained by opera classics in the Great Hall foyer of Parliament House

The meeting’s common themes were strong and pertinent to contemporary urology. They centred around collaborative research efforts such as the ANZUP trials group and the Young Urology Researchers Organisation (YURO), technology especially PSMA PET and social media and social justice including women in urology and operating with respect. Discussions were directed by chairpersons during purposefully allocated Q&A times at the conclusion of each session, a new and well received addition to this years meeting. This was generously embraced by both senior and junior academics and led to intriguing symposiums and at times heated debate.

USANZ 2017 Friday Highlights

The first official day of proceedings provided a smorgasbord of morning and afternoon workshops ranging from technical skills courses to the medico-legal implications of E-Health and technology. This was followed by an allocated networking session for Urology trainees with International faculty.

Officially opening the conference in the Royal Theatre of the convention centre, A/Prof Lawrentschuk introduced this year’s Harry Harris orator; Elizabeth Cosson, AM CSC. Her speech entitled “leading with grit and grace” eloquently detailed her journey in the armed forces and highlighted the difficulties of the unmistakably imbalanced workplace for women in the military. Her talk clearly underlined her role in not only forging a highly successful career for herself but also for those women following in her footsteps. Her inspiring dialogue was synchronous with contemporary issues surrounding Urological practice, especially concerning equality for women but more resolutely, appropriate equity both in training and established practice.

With the tone well established for an exceptional meeting, guests enjoyed a variety of canapés and drinks in the exhibition hall, unwinding with social discussion.

YURO President, Dr Todd Manning talks to young researchers with help from Prof. Henry Woo and A/Prof. Lawrentschuk during the YURO annual meeting

Saturday Highlights

Plenary sessions aplenty began the second day of proceedings with International academic giants including Prof. Klotz, Prof. Chapple, Prof. Traxer and Prof Nitti mixed in with National heavy hitters such as Prof Frank Gardiner, Mr Daniel Moon and outgoing USANZ president Prof. Mark Frydenberg.

Afternoon sessions included subspecialty discussions and some stellar Podium Poster presentations, with an especially impressive mix of senior and junior researchers regarding countless and diverse urological topics.

Sunday Highlights

Heralding the beginning of another exceptional day, the ‘Women in Urology’ breakfast symposium chaired by Dr Anita Clark along side distinguished panellists including Dr Caroline Dowling and Dr Eva Fong was a conference stand out for many.

Following this, more plenary sessions filled the remainder of the pre-lunch program, leading into the highly anticipated Keith Kirkland and Villis Marshall presentations by Urology SET trainees. The presentations did not disappoint. As in previous years, research of unyielding professional and academic quality was offered by the group of future urologists, who as is tradition weathered the gauntlet of probing and tough questions from the floor. All presentations were captivating in their own right. 2017 Villis Marshall winner Dr Marlon Perera presented ground-breaking research regarding the reno-protective role of zinc in contrast nephropathy. Dr Amila Siriwardana was deservedly awarded the Keith Kirkland award for his multicentre retrospective review on Robot assisted salvage node dissection to treat recurrences detected by PSMA PET.

Following these presentations, the YURO annual meeting once again heralded a complement of enthusiastic, innovative and clever minds from all Australian states, eager to pursue research opportunities through collaborative means. Joined this year by Prof. Henry Woo, the group was fortunate to receive his valuable insight and feedback regarding past success and future direction. The group solidified upcoming positions of leadership and highlighted new directions in educational, research and mentorship avenues for younger members.

The Gala Dinner is a stand out affair during each ASM and this year was no exception. Guests were provided with the unique opportunity to see Australia’s Parliament House from the inside. The night began with surprise operatic renditions of many well known classics in the spacious foyer of the Great Hall and culminated with a climactic performance of Nesson Dorma. Guests then enjoyed a delectable 3 course meal in identical fashion to a rare collection of political royalty including; Barack Obama, Prince William and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Twitter metrics tabulated from the conference via the #Usanz17 (courtesy of Symplur LLC)

Monday Highlights

The final day of proceedings saw once again provided an array of interesting and thought provoking topics. The clear highlight of the morning was the metaphorical prize fight between Mr Joseph Ischia and Dr Shankar Siva debating the roles of surgery and radiotherapy in Oligometastatic disease. Although these two went toe to toe over many rounds, the inevitable conclusion was understandably a draw. Although on PowerPoint slide pictures alone, Dr Siva’s extensive use of Star Wars based analogies won my vote.

Insight and introduction to the 71^st USANZ ASM was then delivered and as a Melbournian my bias was admittedly hard to hide. Attendees received a taste of the excitement to come, with what is assured to be another blockbuster cast of national and international urologists led boldly by Convenor Mr Daniel Moon and Scientific Program Director Prof. Declan Murphy. I for one, eagerly anticipate the return of the ASM to out Nation’s culinary and cultural capitol and I’m sure guests in 2018 will be captivated by the world most liveable city!

It can be said with certainty that this years USANZ 70^th ASM presented a scientific program as strong as ever within a fascinating and historical backdrop and complimented by a lively social atmosphere. This consensus of a highly successful meeting, I’m sure was shared by all.

I look forward to seeing you all next year and hope you are eagerly anticipating the ‘flat whites’.

Dr. Todd G Manning, Department of Surgery, Austin Health, Melbourne, and Young Urology Researchers Organisation (YURO), Australia. Twitter: @DocToddManning

West Coast Urology: Highlights from the AUA 2016 in San Diego… Part 2

May 12, 2016/1 Comment/by Jonathan Makanjuola

By Ben Challacombe (@benchallacombe) and Jonathan Makanjuola (@jonmakurology)

The AUA meeting was starting to hot up with the anticipation of the Crossfire sessions, PSA screening and the MET debate that appeared to rumble on. We attended the MUSIC (Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative) session. It is a fantastic physician led program including >200 urologists, which aims to improve the quality of care for men with urological diseases. It is a forum for urologists across Michigan, USA to come together to collect clinical data, share best practices and implement evidence based quality improvement activities. One of their projects is crowd reviewing of RALP by international experts for quality of the nerve spare in order to improve surgical outcomes.

The MET debate continues to cause controversy. In the UK there has been almost uniform abandonment of the use of tamsulosin for ureteric stones following The Lancet SUSPEND RCT.

The MET crossfire debate was eagerly awaited. The debate was led by James N’Dow (@NDowJames) arguing against and Philipp Dahm (@EBMUrology) in favour of MET. Many have criticised the SUSPEND paper for lack of CT confirmation of stone passage. Dr Matlaga (@BrianMatlaga) stated that comparing previous studies of MET to SUSPEND is like comparing apples to oranges due to different outcome measures. He recommended urologists continue MET until more data is published. More conflicting statements were made suggesting that MET is effective in all patients especially for large stones in the ureter. The AUA guidelines update was released and stated that MET can be offered for distal ureteric stones less than 10mm.

In a packed Endourology video session there were many high quality video presentations. One such video was a demonstration of the robotic management for a missed JJ ureteric stent. Khurshid Ghani (@peepeeDoctor) presented a video demonstrating the pop-corning and pop-dusting technique with a 100w laser machine.

One of the highlights of the Sunday was the panel discussion plenary session, Screening for Prostate Cancer: Past, Present and Future. In a packed auditorium Stacy Loeb (@LoebStacy), gave an excellent overview of PSA screening with present techniques including phi, 4K and targeted biopsies. Freddie Hamdy looked into the crystal ball and gave a talk on future directions of PSA testing and three important research questions that still needed to be answered. Dr. Catalona presented the data on PSA screening and the impact of the PLCO trial. He argued that due to inaccurate reporting, national organisations should restore PSA screening as he felt it saved lives.

There was a twitter competition for residents and fellows requiring participants to tweet an answer to a previously tweeted question including the hashtag #scopesmart and #aua16. The prize was Apple Watch. Some of the questions asked included; who performed the 1st fURS? And what is the depth of penetration of the Holmium laser?

UK trainees picked up the prizes on the first two days.

The British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) / BJU International (BJUI) / Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ) session was a real highlight of day three of the AUA meeting. There were high quality talks from opinion leaders in their sub specialities. Freddie Hamdy from Oxford University outlined early thoughts from the protecT study and the likely direction of travel for management of clinically localised prostate cancer. Prof Emberton (@EmbertonMark) summarised the current evidence for the role of MRI in prostate cancer diagnosis including his thoughts on the on going PROMIS trial. Hashim Ahmed was asked if HIFU was ready for the primetime and bought us up to speed with the latest evidence.

The eagerly awaited RCT comparing open prostatectomy vs RALP by the Brisbane group was summarised with regards to study design and inclusion criteria. It is due for publication on the 18th May 2016 so there was a restriction of presenting results. Dr Coughlin left the audience wanting more despite Prof. Dasgupta’s best effort to get a sneak preview of the results! We learnt from BAUS president Mark Speakman (@Parabolics) about the UK effort to improve the quality of national outcomes database for a number of index urological procedures.

Oliver Wiseman (@OJWiseman) gave us a flavour of outcomes from the BAUS national PCNL database and how they are trying drive up standards to improve patient care. A paediatric surgery update was given by Dr Gundeti. The outcomes of another trial comparing open vs laparoscopic vs RALP was presented. There was no difference in outcomes between the treatment modalities but Prof. Fydenburg summarised by saying that the surgeon was more important determinant of outcome than the tool. Stacy Loeb closed the meeting with an excellent overview of the use of twitter in Urology, followed by a drinks reception.

It was not all about stones and robots. The results of the Refractory Overactive Bladder: Sacral NEuromodulation vs. BoTulinum Toxin Assessment (ROSETTA) trial results were presented. Botox came out on top against neuromodulation in urgency urinary incontinence episodes over 6 months, as well as other lower urinary tract symptoms.

The late breaking abstract session presented by Stacy Loeb highlighted a paper suggesting a 56% reduction in high-grade prostate cancer for men on long term testosterone. This was a controversial abstract and generated a lot of discussion on social media.

It has been an excellent meeting in San Diego and we caught up with old and met new friends. It was nice to meet urologists from across the globe with differing priorities and pressures. There was a good British, Irish and Australian contingent flying the flag for their respective countries. It was another record-breaking year for the #AUA16 on twitter. It surpassed the stats for #AUA15 with over 30M impressions, 16,659 tweets 2,377 participants. See you all in Boston for AUA 2017.

Posts

Urological Management has Impact

Welcome from Jose Karam, AUA Associate Secretary for Europe, Middle East, Africa regions

What is the environmental impact of disposable scopes in urology

New developments in managing UTI: Impacting unmet need

Staying ahead of the curve in Peyronies disease: The impact of prosthetics on andrology

Focal therapy in Prostate Cancer: Potential Impact

Debate: The impact of location on provision of uro-oncology care

Reducing disease burden in prostate cancer

Female urethral anatomy: impacting society and urological surgery

BJUI Americas Award for authors based in The Americas presented by Freddie Hamdy, Editor-in-Chief BJUI