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A simple gel floor mat can bring back relief when frequently performing endourologic procedures, but for hand and wrist problems, the solution is not so simple.

Many studies on mini-slings have widely varying outcome measures as well as insufficient follow-up periods.

Will 2011 be the year that medical malpractice reform becomes a reality? The new political alignment in Congress appears to offer more hope than in many years past, and advocates are anxious to achieve that long-elusive objective.

Results of a phase III trial failed to confirm data from a phase II study suggesting that the addition of high-dose oral calcitriol (DN-101) to docetaxel (Taxotere) confers a survival advantage and reduces toxicity versus treatment with docetaxel alone in men with progressive castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Urology has undergone an evolution in both the way clinicians approach surgical and nonsurgical procedures and the settings in which they perform them.

Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy may be associated with significantly lower rates of surgical-site infection than open radical retropubic prostatectomy, according to a large retrospective analysis of nearly 6,000 consecutive prostatectomies.

Robot-assisted laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy does not get patients in and out of the operating room quicker than traditional laparoscopy does.

Physician ownership of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment deserves transparent discussion of the risks and benefits, supported by data where available.

Physical activity is associated with a lower risk of overall mortality and death due to prostate cancer, say researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and the University of California, San Francisco.

Treatment that combines alpha-blockers and antibiotics appears to provide the greatest improvement in symptom relief in patients with chronic prostatits/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), according to findings from a recent meta-analysis.

Women who underwent gastric band surgery to lose weight reported significant improvements in urinary function and quality of life after the operation, say Australian researchers.

Participation in a behavioral training program for at least 1 year following radical prostatectomy reduced the number of incontinence episodes in men in a recently published study.

National Government Services (NGS), a regional Medicare carrier, recently issued a future negative coverage decision on posterior tibial nerve stimulation therapy (Urgent PC, Uroplasty, Inc., Minneapolis) that became effective in four states after Jan. 3, 2011.

Congress passed a bill in December that exempts physicians, nurse practitioners, and non-medical professionals from the Federal Trade Commission?s ?Red Flags Rule,? which helps protect consumers from identity theft.

Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. has submitted a new drug application to the FDA for the investigational drug abiraterone acetate administered with prednisone for the treatment of metastatic advanced prostate cancer in patients who have received prior chemotherapy containing a taxane.

The FDA has approved a new testosterone gel (Fortesta) for the treatment of hypogonadism.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology recently announced the availability of registration for Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record incentive programs.

The PSA test appears to be more reliable in men taking dutasteride (Avodart), recent study results indicate.

Urologists and other physicians who treat Medicare patients have again escaped a steep reimbursement reduction as President Obama on Dec. 15 signed legislation passed by the lame-duck Congress providing a 12-month reprieve.

Obesity is independently related to better outcomes in patients with metatstatic renal cell carcinoma who are treated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

For the management of refractory urge incontinence, non-pharmacologic options can be used alone or in combination with anticholinergic medications will be adequate treatment for many patients, but some will need further therapy.

While it is tempting to look only at "the bottom line," the contemporary physician manager/owner needs to have a more thorough understanding of the numbers that contribute to that bottom line and how to use that information to quickly discover problems and solutions.

In determining when and how to use a code, the primary issues to address are the performance definition, bundling, and last but certainly not least, medical necessity.

We no longer need to consider if laparoendoscopic single-site surgery is safe and effective-with the caveat of experienced hands-but we do need to examine in whom the cosmetic advantages of LESS merit the added surgical complexity.

Although most urologists agree the field is shifting toward increasingly minimally invasive approaches, they have mixed feelings about whether the move is totally justified.

There are several areas where urologists feel clinical guidelines would be helpful.

Use of anticoagulants, particularly aspirin, substantially reduces the risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality, analysis of a large prostate cancer database showed.