Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, have shown that hysterectomy greatly increases the risk of urinary incontinence, and women who undergo the procedure are more than twice as likely to also undergo surgery for urinary incontinence (The Lancet 2007; 370:1494-9).
Patients with localized prostate cancer halve their risk of dying from the disease within 6 months of diagnosis when they undergo brachytherapy to treat their cancer rather than managing their disease through active surveillance, according to a study presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology annual meeting in Los Angeles.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has increased hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgical center reimbursement rates for cryoablation treatments for prostate cancer, and has created a reimbursement code and rate for percutaneous renal cryoablation. The new rates will go into effect in 2008.
Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ final physician fee schedule, physicians will face a 10.1% reduction in Medicare reimbursement next year unless Congress steps in to circumvent the cut. The fee schedule will take effect Jan. 1, 2008.
The authors of a study showing the potential value of ultrasound-guided stem cells as a standard treatment for stress urinary incontinence need to be commended on their results.
Members of Congress and their staffs can expect to hear more about prostate cancer and the need to support research initiatives, now that AUA has a new chief lobbyist on board.
Acton, MA- Allen Medical Systems Co.'s new Uro Catcher System adapts to any table and efficiently collects and contains urine during cystoscopies.
Given current Medicare policy, we do not recommend billing either 64450 or 64430 in conjunction with prostate biopsy.
Whether he or she practices in a community or an academic setting, every urologist is faced with the routine challenge of sifting through a myriad of scientific articles each month.
No matter which sling surgeons use to treat incontinence in obese women, results are similar-and good-with minimal complications.
A study from Loyola University Medical Center posed a simple question: "Can a surgeon rely on obstructive symptoms to detect urinary retention?" The study results offered an equally simple answer: No.
With a median 2 years of follow-up, anterior repair with porcine skin collagen mesh still looks better than plication alone, but not dramatically better, and the difference could lessen with longer-term follow-up.
Older women who are candidates for sling surgery to treat stress incontinence need more intensive counseling than younger patients do.
Linthicum, MD-California urologists were recently hit with a "RAC attack" that may foreshadow the reach of the soon-to-be-national Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program and its impact on practicing urologists. The RAC program is particularly relevant to urologists across the country who administer prostate cancer drugs in their offices, national and state officials say.
Using stem cells to cure stress urinary incontinence has been tested against collagen bulking and in incontinence following prostate surgery, and has come up a winner.
Urology resident Lt. Cmdr. Richard Jadick, DO, was awarded a Bronze Star with a Combat V for valor for saving the lives of more than 90 critically wounded Marines, sailors, and Iraqi soldiers during operations in Fallujah.
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Dendreon Corp. has completed enrollment of more than 500 U.S. and Canadian patients in the phase III IMPACT (IMmunotherapy for Prostate AdenoCarcinoma Treatment) clinical trial of sipuleucel-T (Provenge) for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. The IMPACT study is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial designed to measure overall survival in men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer receiving sipuleucel-T versus placebo.
Leo Giambarresi, PhD, has joined the AUA Foundation as the director of research. Dr. Giambarresi is currently the prostate cancer research program manager at the Battelle Memorial Institute, U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command, Fort Detrick, MD, where he leads a multidisciplinary team of government and contract scientists, clinicians, consumers, and support staff to execute all aspects of an $80 million appropriations budget for prostate cancer research.
Christopher Kane, MD, has been appointed the new chief of urology at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center and Moores UCSD Cancer Center.
Treatment with an investigational agent known as elocalcitol effectively arrested prostate growth in BPH patients, according to Italian researchers. The therapy also showed improvements in urgency, frequency, and nocturia.
Early and appropriate treatment of urinary tract infection, especially during the first 24 hours after the onset of symptoms, diminishes the likelihood of renal involvement during the acute phase of the infection, but does not prevent scar formation, researchers reported in Pediatrics (2007; 120:e922-e928).
Testosterone insufficiency in older men is associated with increased risk of death over the following 20 years, independent of multiple risk factors and several pre-existing health conditions, according to researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
The FDA has approved labeling changes for erectile dysfunction drugs in the class that includes tadalafil (Cialis), vardenafil (Levitra), and sildenafil citrate (Viagra), to display more prominently the potential risk of sudden hearing loss and to guide consumers on what to do if they experience sudden problems with their hearing.
The FDA has approved injectable doripenem (Doribax) for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, including pyelonephritis. Doripenem has demonstrated activity against a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas, that cause these serious infections, research has shown.
In patients with castration-refractory prostate cancer, the addition of estramustine (Emcyt) to chemotherapy increases time to PSA progression and overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone, according to a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Oncology (2007; 8:994-1000). However, this benefit should be balanced with the risk of increased thromboembolic events in patients who receive the combination therapy compared with chemotherapy alone.
Andrew C. Novick, MD, chairman of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, recently was named a laureate of the SIU Astellas Award at the 29th Congress of the International Urological Society (SIU) in Paris. The award recognizes outstanding personal contributions to the field of urology and to its development. The award has been presented only seven times in SIU’s 100-year history.
Scott Monroe, MD, has accepted the position of director of the division of reproductive and urologic products at FDA. Dr. Monroe has served as the acting director of the division since June 2006.
With proper screening and treatment, many patients with chronic heart failure can safely engage in sexual activity, according to a review published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings (2007; 82:1203-10).
Men who have prostate cancer surgery, especially if they are younger or have cancers with certain tumor cell characteristics, appear less likely to die of the disease within 10 years than are men who choose other treatment options, according to a report in Archives of Internal Medicine (2007; 167:1944-50).
