Moot on paediatric urological disorders opens at SIUT tomorrow

Issues concerning paediatric urological disorders, a vital field in surgical sciences, will be discussed in great depth at a major international congress, which will begin in the city on Wednesday.

The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) will be hosting the 23rd chapter of the Asia Pacific Association of Paediatric Urologists, popularly known as APAPU. Over three hundred delegates from within Pakistan and 19 foreign countries are attending and they hail from New Zealand, Asia Pacific, the subcontinent, the Middle East, and Europe, besides from all over the host country, including many who were initially trained at the SIUT.

This Congress will take part in two sessions. The first session will consist of two days of live surgical demonstration from three operating theatres. The range of new surgical procedures which will be demonstrated underlines the advances that are being made in every area of paediatric urology and which are being introduced into Pakistan at the SIUT. The second part is two days of scientific presentations and debate.

The SIUT is the country's first medical institution that initiated a specialised paediatric urological department and started a training programme for surgeons from other areas of Pakistan. The Paediatric Urology Department was established at the SIUT some 20 years ago on the initiative of Prof Adib Rizvi, who is the founder director of the Institute. Approximately 500 paediatric urological patients attend the department every week.

The scientific congress will be spread over 16 dedicated scientific sessions that will address major issues, including kidney tumours in children, the neuropathic bladder and advances made in laparoscopic and robotic surgery. The highlight of the congress will be the annual Journal of Paediatric Urology Lecture to be delivered by Professor Alaa El Ghoneimi from Paris, who will also receive the prestigious David Frank medal named after the founder of the journal. The award will be presented by Prof Philip Ransley, who is the chairman of the journal.