NEAUA 2012 Meeting - my involvement and podium abstract

My American Urological Association annual section meeting (New England) will be taking place in Boston at the Westin Boston Waterfront from September 6-8.   I've been involved with this meeting as a member of the Scientific Program Committee.  My duties on the committee have been to review abstracts as well as participate in planning discussions.  It has been a fun and gratifying experience to shape the structure and content of the meeting.


Here is the preliminary program.


My research group has an accepted podium abstract at the meeting!
It is entitled: "Laser Prostatectomy in the Severely Ill - Outcomes and Feasibility of a Rapid Ambulatory Discharge Pathway".  Dr. Ben Herrick, intrepid Dartmouth Urology resident, is lead author on this study. We show in the abstract that patients who are considered to be "severely ill" by American Society of Anesthesiology classification system can safely and effectively have a rapid ambulatory discharge from the hospital after laser prostate surgery.  In fact, 80% of patients benefited from the ambulatory pathway, 8% were admitted for 23 hour observation, and 11% were in the hospital for longer than 23 hours.


Laser prostate surgery for BPH has reduced bleeding compared to transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) because of the sealing action of the laser.  As a result, it is feasible to send patients home the same day of surgery with a urethral catheter.  In contrast, patients are routinely admitted to the hospital after TURP.  Such an ambulatory pathway decreases utilization of hospital resources and allows the patient to recover in the comfort of his home.  Decreasing a patient's exposure to a hospital setting also decreases the possibility of hospital based or "nosocomial" errors, falls, and infections.  Though it would seem counterintuitive to send higher risk surgical patients home from surgery the same day, I believe that it is actually safer to do so because of such an avoidance of the hospital environment.  Our data shows that this can be done in a safe and effective manner.


I encourage all those out there to "save the date" and support this meeting in September!

Gearing up for the 2012 AUA Annual Meeting

The American Urological Association (AUA), has its annual meeting coming up this month from May 19-23.  It's a huge convention with over 11,000 attendees from all over the world.  The topics cover the entire spectrum of urology.  There are so many things going on during the meeting that it is important to be systematic and selective about your learning goals.

For those who have never heard of this meeting, it's probably shocking to know that there will be 11,000 urologists in one city at the same time. Since most urologists are male, I can also tell you that it's one of the few times I've seen the bathroom line being longer for the men's room than for the ladies'.  Leave it to a urologist like me to make such an observation!

It will be a busy meeting for me this year.  Here's what I'll be doing:

- I will help teach a class on laser prostate surgery for BPH  (108HO: Modern Alternatives to TURP: Lasers and Bipolar Sunday, May 20, 2012, 8 – 11 a.m.).  

- From 11a - noon that day, I'll will be at the AUA Foundation (AUAF) booth in the exhibit hall to talk about the Bladder Pal app.   I'm very excited to announce that the AUAF has approached me to collaborate via this app on their new overactive bladder awareness campaign.  By working together we will be able to increase recognition and patient empowerment for this condition.  

- Later in the week, I will be presenting 3 abstracts:

1. Abstract 1548: "Bladder Pal" - Empowering Patients to Monitor Urologic Health with Mobile Technology
2. Abstract 2010: "Prostate Pal" - Empowering Patients to Monitor Urologic Health with Mobile Technology
3. Abstract 2170: It Is Safe to Teach Residents Laser Prostatectomy in the Private Practice Setting

Here is a link to the abstracts if you want to read them.

I hope to catch the BPH and men's health related sessions and as many plenary talks as I can since they are particularly informative and contemporary.

If you are reading this and will be at the meeting, please grab me and say hi!