The first World Congress of Pediatric Urology was held in San Francisco in May 2010, bringing together the largest and most successful international congregation of pediatric urologists ever assembled. As part of a collaborative effort, The Journal of Urology and the Journal of Pediatric Urology have together published the landmark papers presented at this meeting.
The vitality of clinical and basic pediatric urology research was evident at the Congress held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA). "This Congress has laid the foundation for the development of future similar meetings where the international community of pediatric urology can share ideas," commented Anthony A. Caldamone, MD, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Co-Editor, Journal of Pediatric Urology. "It was truly a step forward in the maturation of pediatric urology as a specialty worldwide."
Keynote speaker Dr. David Bloom summarized the "First 50 years of Pediatric Urology" blending factual information with entertaining observations. Other conference highlights included Professor Christopher Woodhouse, the Meredith Campbell Lecturer, who spoke on the important topic of transitional care as pediatric urologic patients move into adulthood. Dr. Bernard Churchill provided new insights on nanotechnology and its potential application in pediatric urology. Dr. Alyssa Lebel, the Kelm Hjalmas ICCS Memorial Lecturer, discussed the intricacies of neural circuits and micturition as evaluated by functional MRI. Dr. Craig Peters reviewed some of the controversial points of vesicoureteral reflux treatment and Dr. John Brock summarized the impact of prenatal diagnosis on the practice of pediatric urology.
Panel discussions covered such topics as the long-term implications of testicular maldescent, treatment of nocturnal enuresis, regenerative medicine, minimally invasive surgery, hypospadias surgery, pediatric varicoceles, disorders of sexual development and Wilms tumor treatment.
World Congress Planning Committee Chair, Marc Cendron, MD, Associate Professor in Surgery (Urology), Harvard Medical School, observed that "the meeting achieved its stated goal which was to bring together as many pediatric urologists and nurses from around the world as possible since a final participant tally was well over 1000 representing over 60 countries. The ground work for a second World Congress of Pediatric Urology has been laid out."
Through the generosity of the American Urological Association, the Journal of Pediatric Urology Company and Elsevier, publisher of both journals, all articles have been made openly available online so that all pediatric urologists have access to these important contributions to the pediatric urology literature.
Can soda taxes fight obesity? New research adds to the debate