Battlefield urology

AUA History Booth spotlights urology in wartime.


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War! What is it good for? In this case, learning. The AUA History Booth will trace the role urology played during wartime as part of its “Battlefield Urology,” in Booth #1342 in the Science & Technology Hall. The exhibit explores how war affected the specialty of urology, and how urology impacted historical battles in war.

This year’s exhibit, sponsored by UroGen in an adjacent booth, is curated by Mark Edney, MD, retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dr. Edney served as section representative to the AUA Public Policy Council from 2012-2018 and helped obtain support for troops suffering from urotrauma. He currently serves as editor of the Business Section of Urology Practice® and is incoming chair of the AUA Public Policy Council. Dr. Edney will present “Genitourinary Trauma in the Military” at the Battlefield Urology Booth today at 10 a.m.

Dr. Edney and AUA Historian Ronald Rabinowitz, MD, FACS, FAAP, professor of pediatric urology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, will moderate the popular Forum on the History of Urology today from 1 to 5 p.m. in Room S105BC and participate in the included debate on “Wartime Triage: Military versus Civilians.” At 3 p.m., the History Forum features its Bicknell Lecture with Steven Hudak, who will present “Battlefield Genitourinary Injury: Past, Present and Future.”

“In addition to the ethics debate and the Bicknell Lecture, the History Forum includes 14 posters and 20 podium presentations, the highest graded of the record 115 submitted abstracts,” Dr. Rabinowitz said.  “At the History Exhibit, attendees can pick up a ‘battlefield newspaper’ containing 22 articles describing the effect of war on urology and the effect of urology on war.”

Speakers at the History Booth over the course of three days (Friday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) include:

  • Sam Donnenfeld, MD, “Variococeles and the Military”
  • Drs. Kevin Pranikoff and Rabinowitz, “VD and the Battlefield”
  • Barbara Chubak, MD, “GG Smith: A Urologist on the Western Front”
  • Sutchin Patel, MD, “John K. Lattimer: World War II Veteran and Historian”
  • Arthur Burnett, MD, “Successful Penile Transplantation in a Military Veteran”
  • Jennifer Gordetsky, MD, “Annie, Annie: Are You OK? Death Masks, War, and Simulation”
  • Friedrich Moll, MD, “Impetus for German-Speaking Urology”

This year, the History Booth also will feature a look at Intuitive’s da Vinci® Surgical System (Standard) introduced in 1999—a urologic medical advance that grew from military technology. 

Dr. Gordetsky, professor of pathology and urology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville hosts this year’s games, “Lies, Damn Lies and Medical History.” Winners will be awarded prizes and plenty of museum “swag.” Be sure to enter the History Booth raffle; one winner will receive a special military history prize. 

Finally, don’t leave without shopping the popular products at the Museum Store. 

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