Recent advances in treatment for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Clinical benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), often identified as a worsening ability of a male to pass urine, is a significant problem for men in our society. In 2015, the use of personalised medicine is tailoring treatment to individual patient needs and to genetic characteristics. Technological advances in surgical treatment are changing the way BPH is treated and are resulting in less morbidity.

Training in minimally invasive surgery in urology: European Association of Urology/International Consultation of Urological Diseases consultation.

Objectives: To describe the progress being made in training for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in urology.

Methods: A group of experts in the field provided input to agree on recommendations for MIS training. A literature search was carried out to identify studies on MIS training, both in general and specifically for urological procedures.

Online and social media presence of Australian and New Zealand urologists.

Objective: To assess the online and social media presence of all practising Australian and New Zealand urologists.

Subjects And Methods: In July 2014, all active members of the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ) were identified. A comprehensive search of Google and each social media platform (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube) was undertaken for each urologist to identify any private websites or social media profiles.

Radical treatment of localised prostate cancer in the elderly.

Elderly men are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive cancer, but are often inappropriately denied curative treatment. Biological rather than chronological age should be used to decide if a patient will profit from radical treatment. Therefore, every man aged >70 years should undergo a health assessment using a validated tool before making treatment decisions.

A Valsalva leak-point pressure of >100 cmH2O is associated with greater success in AdVance™ sling placement for the treatment of post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence.

Objectives: To determine if there is a Valsalva leak-point pressure (VLPP) threshold that predicts for retro-urethral transobturator sling (RTS) success in men with post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence (UI).

Patients And Methods: The preoperative urodynamic parameters of all patients undergoing RTS (AdVance™) sling surgery over the last 5 years were analysed and compared with the postoperative outcomes. The sling was defined as having been successful if the patient no longer had to wear pads or merely used a pad to provide a sense of security.

PSA screening in New Zealand: total population results and general practitioners' current attitudes and practices.

Aims: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in New Zealand. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as a screening tool for prostate cancer remains controversial. The aim was to determine the rate of PSA screening in New Zealand and to survey general practitioners' utility of PSA and their attitudes towards PSA screening.

In 2013, holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) may be the new 'gold standard'.

In this review article, we assess why holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) has become an important treatment modality for benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Meta-analysis comparing HoLEP with both open prostatectomy (OP) and transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) shows TURP to be as effective with less morbidity. More recently, HoLEP has long-term durability data confirming a very low reoperation rate.

Workload in a provincial New Zealand vascular surgery service.

Aim: There is increasing evidence that centralising complex surgical procedures improves mortality rates. The focus on mortality as the primary outcome measure overlooks every other aspect of a local surgical service that could be lost by centralisation. The aim of this audit was to assess the total vascular service provided in a provincial vascular surgical unit

Method: This was a 12-month prospective audit of the vascular surgical service in Taranaki.