Our department had a strong showing at the 80th annual Southeastern Section of the American Urological Association meeting in Nashville, Tenn., held March 17-20, 2016.
Faculty members and residents were involved in several sessions, and the department had a particularly strong showing in the areas of kidney stones and prostate cancer.
Tracey Wilson, M.D., moderated the podium session on incontinence and voiding dysfunction, and she also lent her expertise in the management of refractory overactive bladder for a panel-of-experts discussion on botulinum toxin and neuromodulation. Jeffrey Nix, M.D., moderated several oncology sessions, including a prostate cancer podium session and a kidney and adrenal cancer session.
Dean Assimos, M.D., highlighted his expertise in nephrolithiasis by moderating the debate on management of the 1.5cm renal pelvis stone. His work in the lab was also represented in multiple presentations. Thanmaya Reddy, M.D., PGY-4, presented data on oxalate concentrations in human gastrointestinal fluid, showing that in a fasted state, there is a wide range of small intestinal oxalate concentrations among individuals. This finding likely indicates inter-individual variability of the mechanisms responsible for oxalate transport and warrants further study. Ellie Killian, M.D., PGY-4, presented data on the effect of alanine on cell viability and oxalate production in primary hyperoxaluria type 1, showing that supplemental alanine in a hamster ovary model reduces the production of oxalate and improves cell viability. This finding may help guide future studies on supplemental alanine as a mechanism to reduce endogenous oxalate production in patients with type 1 primary hyperoxaluria.
Soroush Rais-Bahrami, M.D., made several presentations on prostate cancer imaging and lymph node yield. Patrick Guthrie, M.D., PGY-3, presented data showing that despite prior studies showing the African-American (AA) males have been shown to have a higher risk and grade of prostate cancer, cancer grade among a cohort of 177 AA and non-AA men at UAB undergoing MRI/US fusion-guided biopsies was equivalent. Win Shun Lai, M.D., PGY-3, presented data showing that submitting lymph node specimens taken during radical prostatectomy as an entire packet rather than individual packets yields a higher lymph node count; furthermore, the PGY status of the pathology resident affected yield--a more experienced pathology resident found more lymph nodes. The implication is submission of a single packet of lymph nodes during prostatectomy will yield higher lymph node counts and thus affect prognosis and therapy for the patient.
Members of the department also received numerous honors and awards. Dr. L. Keith Lloyd, a member of the UAB Department of Urology since 1974, was recognized at the SES meeting with a Distinguished Member Award. Dr. Lloyd’s decades of dedication and experience has been invaluable to the department.
“Dr. Lloyd is a true gentleman, and we are honored to have him as part of our department,” said Dr. Assimos. “It is not unusual for patients whom he has treated for 40 years to continue to come to see him in clinic because of the genuine, competent, and unparalleled care he provides them. We look forward to him going strong for decades ahead!”
Jubilee Tan, M.D., PGY-5, highlighted her urologic trivia knowledge by being part of the winning team during the Quiz Bowl, and she earned herself a paid trip to the AUA meeting in San Diego to represent the SES in this test of knowledge. While unfortunately the SES did not bring home the crown in San Diego, we were wowed by her trivia prowess!
Last but not least, Dr. Assimos officially began his role as president of the SESAUA for the 2016-2017 year. Among his goals are plans to increase funding for residency programs to send residents on international outreach missions, and we are all looking forward to the meeting in Austin, Texas, from March 23-26, 2017.