Happy New Year from SUNY-Downstate Department of Urology!

Wishing every one out there a safe and prosperous Happy 2012!!! Follow @downstateuro

This Week's Faculty Profile - Brian McNeil, MD

Dr. Brian McNeil is currently the Director of Urologic Oncology at University Hospital-Brooklyn, Assistant Professor of Urology at SUNY-Downstate College of Medicine, and Assistant Urology Residency Program Director for the SUNY-Downstate Department of Urology.

Dr. McNeil has completed multiple research and clinical fellowships in the subspecialty of Urologic Oncology.  He sees patients at both University Hospital Brooklyn and Kings County Hospital Center.

College:  Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia

Medical School:  University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Residency:  Urology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois

Research Fellowship:  National Cancer Institute, Washington, DC

Research Fellowship:  Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland

Urologic Oncology Fellowship:  Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

Dr. McNeil specializes in the complete care of patients with Urologic malignancies including the following:

Adrenal Cancer
Bladder Cancer
Testicular Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Renal Cell Carcinoma
Ureteral Cancer
Urethral Cancer
Penile Cancer

To make an appointment with Dr. McNeil, call the SUNY-Downstate Department of Urology at (718) 270-2554

Buccal Mucosa Urethroplasty for Bulbar Urethral Stricture

From the November Journal of Urology, the video available here demonstrates a current technique for reconstructing the bulbar urethra with buccal mucosa for definitive management of a urethral stricture.  Often, more conservative measures such as urethral dilation or urethrotomy fail in the management of male urethral strictures.  Learn more about urethral stricture disease from Wikipedia here.

Epinephrine Used Effectively to Treat TURP Blood Loss

In the recent issue of International Urology and Nephrology, a group from Mexico used intraoperative intraprostatic injection of epinephrine during transurethral resection of the prostate to reduce blood loss.  In other surgical specialties, epinephrine has been used to reduce immediate blood loss with reasonable success.  The results of this study showed an average blood loss in the non-epinephrine group that is about 2.5 times higher than the group that received the injection.  This method would prove useful in health care settings where less invasive alternatives to TURP such as the plasma button vaporization of the prostate(see video below) are not available or in patients with coagulation disorders where peri-operative concern for bleeding is high.

This Week's Faculty Profile - Jeffrey Schiff, MD

This week's faculty profile is on Jeffrey Schiff, MD.  Dr. Schiff graduated from SUNY-Downstate Urology residency and is currently an Assistant Professor in Urology and the Director of Adult Urology at University Hospital-Brooklyn.

Describe Your Clinical Practice:  "I treat all adult urologic conditions including cancers of the genitourinary tract.  Prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and kidney cancer are included in the scope of my practice as well as many Urologic issues that affect quality of life such as BPH, impotence, kidney stones, male infertility, and urinary incontinence."

Residency:  Urology, SUNY-Downstate Health Sciences Center,  Brooklyn, NY

Medical School:  Tufts University School of Medicine,  Medford/Somerville, MA

Undergraduate:  University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana,  Urbana, IL

Clinical Interests:  Kidney Stone Disease, BPH, Prostate Cancer, Kidney Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Urinary Tract Infections, Incontinence, Elevated PSA, Hematuria, Prostatitis, Impotence, Male Hypogonadism, Interstitial Cystitis, Male Infertility

To make an appointment with Dr. Schiff, call (718) 270-2554

NOTES - Natural Orifice Transgastric Endoscopic Surgery

Now being utilized throughout the world for a variety of surgical procedures, Natural Orifice Transgastric endoscopic surgery is starting to emerge as an option for renal surgery when other approaches are not feasible.

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Cancer Screening in the Elderly Population on the Rise

A new study from the University of Connecticut published in this month's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine states that the elderly population is being more extensively screened for breast, colorectal, prostate, and cervical cancer.  The US Preventative Services Task Force, the same organization that recently spoke out decidedly against PSA in the use for prostate cancer screening, currently recommends that those 75 years or over should not be routinely screened for these diseases, and informed use of testing should be employed for this population of patients.  Although most medical screening tests are relatively cheap, easy, and accessbile, these factors do not justify using them, unless they overall make a difference in patient quality of life or survival.  Any Urologist who has seen an octogenarian for a PSA of 4.6 can attest to that.  To decide if a any medical screening test is necessitated should ultimately be determined by an informed physician who has the means to act judiciously, no matter what the result.

Illegal Kidney Transplants on the Rise in Egypt

The Coalition for Organ Failure Solutions published a report today outlining the shocking number of illegal kidney transplants performed in Egypt.  In addition to the near 1000 licensed kidney transplantations, approximately 100-200 unlicensed transplants are performed every year.  The reports state that Sudanese refugees are targeted for these procedures, even more shocking the report includes video testimonies, ultrasound reports, and medical records indicting those involved.  Learn more about the story here.  Doctors have organized a group to spread awareness and prevent future illegal organ transplantations from occuring.

FDA Approves Topical Oxybutynin for OAB

In Pharma News today the FDA approved an 3% topical once daily dose of oxybutynin gel, 84mg, to those who suffer from overactive bladder.  OAB is essentially urinary urgency and frequency without any other associated condition and can be accompanied by urinary incontinence in some cases.  Oxybutynin can be used to effectively treat this condition, which affects millions of people worldwide and has been shown to affect about 16% of adult men and women.  Learn more about overactive bladder here.