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New York-Partial nephrectomy for small renal cortical tumors, while perhaps a more challenging procedure than radical nephrectomy, significantly delays the onset of kidney disease when compared with the far more common radical procedure, according to a retrospective study from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

Cleveland-Patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy can expect continuing improvement in urinary and sexual functions for up to 2 years after the procedure, according to a single-institution study from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, presented here at the 2006 World Congress of Endourology.

As a physician still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, I know first hand the importance of backing up your electronic data.

Linthicum, MD-A number of observers are hopeful that physicians will get significant help in adopting electronic health records, now that the federal government has published final rules allowing surprisingly broad avenues for donations of EHR items and services to health care providers.

Orange, CA-A dedicated laparoscopic training program has been shown to offer an excellent start to postgraduate urologists in performing laparoscopic urologic procedures. However, participants are unlikely to sustain the skills acquired in this intensive 5-day training program unless they incorporate laparoscopic procedures into their practice. Further, being able to work with a team of urologists immediately after completing this training also bolsters the learning curve.

Cleveland-For now, laparoscopic cryoablation appears to be more effective than both radiofrequency (RF) ablation and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the treatment of small renal tumors, a group of Austrian researchers reported here at the 2006 World Congress of Endourology.

Atlanta-Marrow stem cells may one day be used to cure incontinence by reconstructing the sphincter, new research from Germany suggests.

Pittsburgh-North America has now entered the competition to treat urinary incontinence with autologous muscle-derived cells with a human trial in seven patients. The prize is actual reconstruction of continence mechanisms.

Leaders from the ambulatory surgery center industry and associations with a focus on health care quality and safety have formed a leadership group called the ASC Quality Collaboration.

A trimodality treatment regimen results in excellent local control that alters patterns of failure in patients with high-risk prostate cancer, according to a study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology & Physics (2006; 66:389-94).

Prostate cancer patients receiving high-dose, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) remained disease-free after an 8-year follow-up in a study conducted by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

Focal cryoablation appears to effectively destroy cancerous prostate tumors while preserving a patient?s potency and continence, suggests a study published recently in the Journal of Endourology (2006; 20:688-92).

African-American patients with bladder cancer are 35% more likely to die of the disease than Caucasian patients are, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor.

If your turnover on a rolling 3-year average reaches 20%, you will need to explore how you contribute to this.

New York-Radical prostatectomy may be considered as a safe and effective management option for prostate cancer in appropriately selected HIV-positive men, according to the experience of urologic surgeons at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

New York-Radical prostatectomy may be considered as a safe and effective management option for prostate cancer in appropriately selected HIV-positive men, according to the experience of urologic surgeons at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

Washington-On Aug. 8, 2006, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a proposal to reform the Medicare ambulatory surgical center payment system beginning Jan. 1, 2008, and the news for urology appears to be mixed.

Prostate tumor location device is approved for use

There isn't a urologist who hasn't experienced the following scenario: The doctor stands up to terminate the visit with the patient, asks the patient if there is anything else they would like to discuss, and the patient says no. The doctor closes the chart, puts his hand on the doorknob to leave the room, and the patient says, "There is one more thing I'd like to talk to you about."

If your turnover on a rolling 3-year average reaches 20%, you will need to explore how you contribute to this.

If the conversion factor cut stands, urologists' Medicare income will decrease overall by about 5%.

Although needle biopsies are being used for localization, the majority of prostate cancers are multifocal in nature and invisible on gray scale ultrasonography.

Atlanta-Operating room-based procedures continue to make up a significant proportion of urologists' practice, despite a predominance of office-based clinical practice, data from the American Board of Urology indicate.

Washington-Members of the Coalition for the Advancement of Prosthetic Urology (CAPU) spent several days during the last week of September pounding the halls on Capitol Hill, lobbying Congress to improve payment for prosthetic urology procedures and seeking comprehensive insurance coverage for prosthetic urologic procedures. Now they wait to see what their efforts may have won.

Atlanta-Despite media images depicting middle-aged and older men embracing the use of phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors to correct erectile dysfunction, actual interest and usage in this population has not been well studied.

Atlanta-Two studies presented here at the AUA annual meeting suggest that new treatments could be on the horizon for the treatment of elderly patients with renal cancer and comorbid conditions. The studies are small, follow-up was relatively short, and both investigators stated emphatically that the oncologic safety of these treatments must be studied further.

Atlanta-Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) for solitary and multiple renal tumors led to a small but statistically significant decrease in postoperative renal function, but the clinical significance of the finding remains unclear, according to a retrospective review of a patient series at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD.

Ann Arbor, MI-Surgeon age is not a significant predictor of risk of mortality after cystectomy, according to the results of a recently published study from researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Ann Surg 2006; 244:353-62).