After finding the lumen of a needle guide of an ultrasound transducer assembly soiled during patient safety rounds at a VA hospital, the FDA has issued a public health notification about the importance of properly cleaning and sterilizing reusable ultrasound biopsy transducer assemblies and guidelines for doing so.
Administration of sipuleucel-T (Provenge) in men with advanced androgen-independent prostate cancer shows a significant survival benefit and "a very favorable toxicity and safety profile," according to the authors of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase III study published recently in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (2006; 24:3089-94).
Atlanta-Intraprostatic injection of botulinum toxin A (Botox) is a safe and effective treatment in patients with symptomatic BPH that results in improvements in symptoms and quality of life that may persist for up to 1 year, Chinese researchers reported at the AUA annual meeting here.
Strong leaders continually learn and challenge their own knowledge base. They listen, participate, and make change happen for the greater good.
A urologist from another practice mentioned that his practice has made some changes in its retirement plan to create greater benefits for the doctors. He thought the new plan was called a "cash balance plan." Does this really work?
Many urologists are in the process of trying to transition their practices from the hospital to the office, and are looking for opportunities for ancillary income. A number of ancillary services are being explored.
The current CPT terminology does focus specifically on the results of the laser and not the laser itself.
Somerville, NJ-A new mid-urethral sling device from the Women's Heath & Urology division of Ethicon, Inc., has received 510(k) approval from the FDA for use beginning in autumn 2006. The Gynecare TVT SECUR System is a polypropylene mesh tape that is inserted through the vagina and positioned under the urethra to form a supportive scaffold. It prevents urine loss by maintaining the seal in the bladder neck during movement. No incisions are required, and the procedure can be conducted under local anesthesia, minimizing post-surgical pain and complications. The device is contraindicated for women who are or who intend to become pregnant and those who are on anticoagulant therapy.
When men sustain pelvic fracture trauma, an associated posterior urethral injury will occur 4% to 10% of the time. This article discusses the evaluation and diagnosis of urethral injuries and outlines our group's approach to urethral reconstruction.
Atlanta-A new prostate cancer test known as the PCA3 assay (Gen-Probe Inc., San Diego) remains a work in progress, but at this stage of development, it appears to offer significant utility in men with subtly elevated serum PSA (ie, ?2.5 ng/mL) but a negative initial biopsy.
Atlanta-Researchers from the University of Michigan have developed and validated a new questionnaire to assess health-related quality-of-life outcomes among patients treated for bladder cancer.
Atlanta-Combining an alpha-blocker with a phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor appears to produce a greater therapeutic benefit in men with lower urinary tract symptoms than either drug alone, according to a study from Weill Cornell Medical College, New York.
It's clear that a two-track system of urology is already in place.
Atlanta-In a recent study of nearly 6,500 men treated for localized pros-tate cancer, researchers found that being obese did not significantly affect the need for secondary treatment, nor did it result in decreased overall or disease-specific survival.
Chicago-A widely studied protein can help urologists find sperm to be used for in vitro fertilization and may even indicate another future pharmaceutical application of the substance, according to research presented here at the American Society of Andrology annual meeting here.
Atlanta-Chronic prostatic inflammation may increase the chance that a man will develop prostate cancer, suggesting that men with inflammation on biopsy may need to be followed more closely and perhaps even be re-biopsied more aggressively, even if there is no evidence of cancer.
Among the more than 1,700 scientific papers presented at the 2006 AUA annual meeting, the focus was less on new medical or procedural innovations than on the benefits and risks of current tests and therapies.
Russell Scott, Jr, MD, a pioneer in the field of urology and a philanthropist, died on May 24 in Houston. He was 80 years old.
American Medical Systems Holdings Inc. and Laserscope, two companies with a significant presence in the urology market, have entered into a definitive merger agreement providing for the acquisition of Laserscope by AMS.
Congressional leaders and their staffs kicked off National Men's Health Week this week with screenings June 13 to 15 on Capitol Hill.
John Niederhuber, MD, has been designated to serve as acting director of the National Cancer Institute. Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, formally submitted his resignation as NCI director and will continue to serve as acting FDA commissioner.
The Department of Health and Human Services has posted information on what Medicare pays for 30 common elective procedures and other hospital admissions.
Sunitinib malate (Sutent) appears to be a promising treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, according to a preliminary study published last week in JAMA (2006; 295:2516-24).
A combination of sipuleucel-T (Provenge) active cellular immunotherapy for prostate cancer and bevacizumab (Avastin) significantly increased the PSA doubling time in patients with prostate cancer who had relapsed after prior surgical and radiation therapy, according to recently published data from the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center and the University of California, San Francisco.
Three or four no-shows per day add up to as much as $1,000 per month, with no resulting revenue to the practice.
Brisbane, Australia-Decisions about when and how to perform prostate biopsy have become more complex in recent years, said Michael Jewett, MD, professor of surgery (urology), University of Toronto, in an address at the Urological Society of Australasia annual meeting here. The objective of biopsy should be to detect prostate cancer in men who will benefit from the information they yield.
Paris-Once-daily administration of a newer alpha-blocker appears to have a positive effect in the treatment of patients suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms and BPH compared with placebo, but comes up short in preventing acute urinary retention occurrence, according to Claus G. Roehrborn, MD, professor and chairman of the department of urology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. Dr. Roehrborn presented the results of a 2-year study at the European Association of Urology annual congress here.
Paris-In patients with lower urinary tract symptoms due to bladder outlet obstruction, targeted high-energy transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) provides a suitable option for improvement of their condition, according to Bob Djavan, MD, who presented the results of an 8-year, multicenter, European study at the European Association of Urology annual congress here.
Atlanta-The debate over the most appropriate surgical approach for placement of an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) may be coming to a resolution. In the largest retrospective trial reported to date, Gerard D. Henry, MD, a urologist with Regional Urology, Shreveport, LA, found that the traditional perineal approach offers significantly better urinary control than the newer penoscrotal insertion approach.
Body mass index does not appear to independently predict long-term prostate cancer survival after radical prostatectomy
