Exciting Trends in Urology

The past few years have seen unprecedented changes in the way we manage and approach both male and female patients with urological problems. Some trends are surprises, others expected – but all the advancements that have come about are definitely heartening.

Studies have shown that the incidence of kidney stones has increased over the past 10 years. This is likely due to the way we consume our food nowadays, which increases the incidence of medical conditions such as gout, diabetes and obesity. Having personally experienced the painful colic of stones, I am glad to see the technological advances that have been made in this field. Improvements include:

• Better understanding of the causes of kidney stone formation, which are both hereditary and diet-related. No patient should be without proper counselling about lifestyle changes that will minimise stone recurrences. Thanks to extensive research, mainly from Duke University in the US, we are now able to deliver better stone fragmentation and less kidney injuries with shockwaves (ESWL) with changes to the protocol of its administration in the last two years.

• Gone are the days where large, semi-rigid instruments were used to enter the human body. Urologists today use instruments as small as 3mm in diameter to remove the offending stones from the kidney.

  As co-chairman of the World Health Organization international consultation on stone disease, i am committed to being involved academically in this important area. We have already drawn up guidelines on how best to manage stone disease worldwide.