Desai Sethi Urology Institute brings renowned thought leaders to Miami Beach.

From urologic cancers to female urology to male infertility to kidney stones and sexual health, top urologists from throughout the nation shared their insights and practical suggestions at “Urology on the Beach,” a conference hosted January 13-15 by the Desai Sethi Urology Institute on the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Greater than 150 specialists and general urologists, fellows, and residents attended the institute’s inaugural in-person conference on the Fontainebleau Hotel, learning from recognized leaders in a big selection of disciplines and having fun with the institute’s hospitality. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center on the Miller School was a platinum sponsor, while Axonics, Inc., Boston Scientific, and Medtronic were gold sponsors and Focal One was a silver sponsor.

Our conference brought together world-renowned thought leaders in all facets of urology. With its intimate setting, the conference provided three days of opportunities for residents, fellows, and professionals to network and have one-on-one discussions with our distinguished speakers.”

Dipen J. Parekh, M.D., conference chair, founding director of the Desai Sethi Urology Institute and chair of urology on the Miller School

As well as to college from Desai Sethi, conference presenters got here from the Mayo Clinic, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Latest York University, Duke University, Mount Sinai, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Vanderbilt University, University of Washington, and other academic medical centers.

Presenters shared the most recent knowledge on topics spanning urologic oncology in prostate, renal, upper tract, and bladder cancers from experts at Sylvester, a part of UHealth, in addition to benign disease processes including female and male reconstructive surgery and male infertility/andrology. Other sessions focused on health disparities and profession development.

“Urology on the Beach gave general urologists a likelihood to listen to from top specialists about diagnosing, treating and managing patient conditions they see steadily,” said conference course director Bruno Nahar, M.D., urologic oncologist at Sylvester and assistant professor of urology. “For example, our institute takes a multidisciplinary approach for treating advanced prostate cancers, and there are a lot of recent strategies that supply hope to patients and families. For low-risk cancers, we attempt to avoid unnecessary biopsies or treatments using imaging and biomarkers.”

Female urology issues, corresponding to pelvic floor disorders, were highlighted in one other conference session. “We’ve an ideal team of ladies urologists who collaborate on research in addition to delivering the best level of clinical care,” said conference course director Raveen Syan, M.D., assistant professor of clinical urology. “I believe everyone who attended our conference got here away with recent knowledge.”

Kidney Cancer and Men’s Health

Urology on the Beach began Friday afternoon with a session on kidney cancer, as Miami urologist Vivek Venkatramani, M.D., moderated a panel discussion on difficult cases. Dr. Parekh then led a discussion on surgical innovation with semi-live surgeries.

Ranjith Ramasamy, M.D., associate professor of urology and director, reproductive urology, led the second session on male infertility, andrology, and men’s health. “The sexual health session focused on the most recent advances in each female and male sexual dysfunction,” he said. “Our speakers discussed current treatments to administer erectile dysfunction and infertility as well modern future options.”

Urology specialist Libert Ramos, D.N.P., noted that advanced practice providers are a vital a part of the boys’s health care team, fostering independence and supporting patient satisfaction and outcomes.

Prostate and Testis Oncology

In an interactive Saturday session, Dr. Nahar presented a healthy 53-year-old male’s intermediate prostate cancer case and asked attendees whether focal therapy or surveillance was the perfect approach. After a discussion of further tests or imaging, the consensus was to encourage the patient to hunt treatment. Associate Professor of Urology and member of Sylvester, Sanoj Punnen, M.D., noted that the institute’s Miami Energetic Surveillance Protocol provides insights as to which patients usually tend to progress to advanced prostate cancer.

Jim C. Hu, M.D., M.P.H., director of the LeFrak Center for Robotic Surgery and the Ronald P. Lynch Chair in Urologic Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine in Latest York, led a panel discussion on surgical innovations in prostate cancer. “Our goal is to cure cancer first, then maintain continence and potency,” said Dr. Nahar, who discussed the “modified hood” surgical approach.

Neeraj Agarwal, M.D., professor of medication and a Presidential Endowed Chair of Cancer Research on the Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, provided an update on clinical trials for treating metastatic prostate cancer, and Joel Sheinfeld, M.D., testicular cancer specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Latest York, gave an update on managing seminoma, a malignant germ cell tumor.

Ian Thompson, M.D., a prostate cancer specialist in San Antonio, Texas, and member of the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors, gave a virtual presentation on “Three Studies that Modified My Practice.” He cited research that shows earlier detection for metastatic disease and longer survival rates ought to be considered when reviewing treatment options.

Health Disparities

Despite advances in recent many years, Black men proceed to have a better incidence and mortality rate from prostate cancer than other races, and Hispanic men have higher rates of testicular cancer -; two of the health disparities outlined in a session led by Leslie Deane, M.D., M.S., chief of urology service, Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Yaw Nyame, M.D., assistant professor of urology on the University of Washington in Seattle, noted that “race” is a social economic and political construct, and health disparities are sometimes on account of a person’s living and environmental conditions. “We’d like to take a look at how we serve marginalized populations, including individuals with disabilities and mental health issues, in addition to the LGBT community,” he said. “A patient- and community-centered approach is the important thing to delivering equitable care.”

Ekene Ada Enemchukwu, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at Stanford University, cited research conducted with Dr. Syan on disparities in look after Black women with urinary incontinence or pelvic floor disorders. “Patients with navigators through the health system were more prone to follow through with their care,” she said. “Meanwhile, urologists should take the time to know the barriers facing many minority patients and reach out to their primary care physicians to coordinate individual care.”

After speaking on “Disparities in Kidney Stone Care,” Kymora Scotland, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of urology and director of endourology research at UCLA in Los Angeles, highlighted the necessity for greater diversity within the medical workforce. “We’ve to achieve out to our communities and get children enthusiastic about medicine at a young age,” she said. “That is the perfect long-term solution to grow our pipeline of providers.”

Profession Development

Profession development is in necessary topic for educational and clinical urologists, in addition to trainees, in response to Stacy Loeb, M.D., a prostate cancer specialist with Latest York University Langone Health. In her talk on “Marketing Yourself and the Role of Social Media,” Dr. Loeb noted the importance of setting goals and taking control of 1’s skilled narrative.

“Many patients select their provider based on a physician’s digital presence,” she said. “For those who are recruiting participants for clinical studies, medical students or trainees, a robust social media platform can be very necessary.”

Later within the session, Dr. Parekh moderated a panel discussion on “The Path to Leadership in Medicine.” Asked whether leaders are “born or made,” the panelists agreed that the suitable skills could be learned, no matter one’s innate personality. “Hunt down mentors, including those outside medicine, who can offer you good feedback,” said Dr. Parekh. “And remember which you can be a frontrunner with out a title.”

Female and Male Urology

Katherine Amin, M.D., and Laura Martin, D.O., assistant professors of urology, took part in a panel discussion on “Updates in Management of Stress Urinary Incontinence.” Victor Nitti, M.D., professor of urology at UCLA Health in Los Angeles, then gave a keynote talk on the “Case-Based Approach to Midurethral Sling Placement versus Urethral Bulking Agent.

Miami urologist Hemendra Shah, M.D., and Robert Marcovich, M.D., associate professor of urology and resident program director on the institute, moderated a session on “Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia/Endo,” including a panel discussion of minimally invasive surgical therapy in BPH.

On Sunday morning, Chad Ritch, M.D., M.B.A., associate professor of urology and member of Sylvester, moderated a session on “Urology Oncology: Bladder and Upper Tract” that included a panel discussion on the management of upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Clinical instructor Archan Khandekar, M.D., and urologist Helen Hougen, M.D. led a tumor board multidisciplinary discussion of common genitourinary malignancies. In the ultimate session, North Carolina urologist Aaron Lentz, M.D. gave a keynote talk on “Management of Male Incontinence,” followed by a panel discussion of inauspicious scenarios.

Reflecting on lasting impact of Urology on the Beach, Dr. Nahar said, “Our conference echoed the mission of the Desai Sethi Urology Institute to draw top talent, speed up modern approaches, and foster collaboration between specialties like basic and translational sciences, biomedical engineering, and technology.”

Source:

Desai Sethi Urology Institute on the University of Miami Health System