The OMI is excited to have hosted the annual ESU/ Weill Cornell Master Class in Urology, which took place from July 10-16, 2022. 32 fellows from 27 various countries created a very dynamic, engaged, international group.
The ESU/ Weill Cornell Master Class in Urology is a collaborative program between the European School of Urology and Weill Cornell Medicine. It is designed for young urologists with an academic profile and includes state-of-the-art lectures, case discussions, and a laparoscopic hands-on training. The masterclass is organized by the European School of Urology (ESU) in collaboration with the Open Medical Institute (OMI).
Fellows were not the only international group, as faculty also came together from many different countries. The course was led for the first time by Dr. Evangelos N. Liatsikos, Professor of Urology and Chairman of the Urology Department at the University Hospital of Patras (Greece), Vice Chairman of Hellenic Urological Association (HUA), and Elect-Chairman of the European School of Urology (ESU). The co-course director was Dr. Peter N. Schlegel, James J. Colt Professor of Urology at Weill Cornell Medicine (USA). Additional faculty included Dr. Marij Dinkelman-Smit from the Netherlands, Dr. Esteban Emiliani from Spain, Dr. Thomas W. Jarrett and Dr. James Kashanian from the USA, Dr. Ignacio Moncada from Spain, Dr. Samantha M. Pfeifer and Dr. Scott T. Tagawa from Weill Cornell Medicine (USA), and Dr. Evanguelos Xylinas from France.
25 lectures were presented by faculty members, including topics such as The Biology Underlying Urothelial Cancer, Complications of PCNL, What Does the Urologist Need to Know about Fertility?, Peyronie’s Disease Surgery: Selection of the Patient, Technique and Graft, Penile Prostheses: Current Concepts, The Role of Hormone Stimulation in Men with Non Obstructive Azoospermia Undergoing Surgical Sperm Retrieval, and more. Fellows’ case presentations were held on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday afternoon. Six cases were chosen by the faculty as excellent case presentations, which will be published on the OMI Online Case Library.
Wednesday afternoon was dedicated to the laparoscopic hands-on training, which was held for four hours at five Olympus training stations. Olympus sent two of their team members, Maria Strauss and Catrinel Vasile, to set up and oversee the training stations. In order to give the fellows the best training experience, two tutors, Dr. Tiago Ribeiro de Oliveira and Dr. Rai, were available to teach the fellows and help with uncertainties/questions. Two different levels of training were offered, the basic E-BLUS training and the intermediate pyeloplasty. If not previously completed, the E-BLUS exam could be registered for in advance and taken on-site Thursday afternoon. If a fellow passed this exam, they could move onto the intermediate training as well. 10 fellows took the E-BLUS exam on site at Schloss Arenberg.
The highly interactive ESU/ Weill Cornell Master Class in Urology is an immense opportunity for young urologists because it enables them to network and make valuable contacts for the future. The OMI is grateful to all who made this seminar possible, especially to Olympus for providing the necessary vendors and equipment for the hands-on training.
