Oxford University & Koç University Urology Symposium & Structured Course

Date: 24-25 February 2023, Friday & Saturday
Venue: RMK AIMES & Koç University Hospital, Istanbul

COURSE SUMMARY

The Oxford University and Koç University Urology Symposium held on February 24-25, 2023 at the RMK AIMES Training and Convention Centre in Istanbul was a resounding success. The symposium was organized in a multi-disciplinary fashion, with participation from many specialties including medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, pathology, nuclear medicine, and anaesthesiology. Sessions focused on a range of topics such as bladder cancer, functional urology, urinary tract stone diseases, prostate cancer, BPH, and kidney cancer. Over 140 colleagues attended the symposium, engaging in interactive discussions, questions, and answers.

In addition to the two-day symposium, the Koç and Oxford University Urology faculties organized eight hands-on training courses at the training centre over two days. These courses included laparoscopic training box EBLUS course, Da Vinci robotic simulator course, laparoscopic upper urinary tract porcine model course, human fresh frozen cadaver advanced minimally invasive stone surgery course with retrograde intrarenal stone surgery by laser application, human fresh frozen cadaver robotic radical prostatectomy course, human fresh frozen cadaver robotic upper urinary tract surgery course, human fresh frozen cadaver artificial urinary sphincter course, and human fresh frozen cadaver penile prosthesis implantation course.

Our symposium and courses provided a unique opportunity for participants to share experiences and knowledge in an international setting, fostering collaboration and friendship. The event has been accredited by UEMS-EACCME, offering six CME points for each day.

We extend our gratitude to all participants and faculty members who supported this wonderful event.

PHOTOS

FACULTY COMMENTS

Mr. Richard Bell
MBBS MS FRCS FRCS (urol)
Consultant Urological Surgeon
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Department of Urology
Oxford

Congratulations to Professors Erdem Canda and Sarp Keskin for organising such an excellent inaugural meeting between Koc and Oxford Universities. The lectures were all stimulating, well presented and topical, and the case-based discussions were of a very high standard. The RMK AIMES simulation centre is an extremely impressive world class facility. We are extremely grateful to the whole faculty for their kind welcome and generous hospitality, and I sincerely hope that this is the start of a long and mutually beneficial relationship between our institutions.

Mr. Mussab Yassin
MBChB MRCS FRCS(Urol)
FEBU FECSM
Consultant Urological Surgeon
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Department of Urology
Oxford

Recommendable for anyone looking for state-of-the-art surgical training facilities. I can only say that this was an experience that by far exceeded all my expectations!

Mrs. Sarah Howles
DPhil, MRCS (Eng), MA (Cantab)
Consultant Urological Surgeon
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Department of Urology
Oxford

Thank you for an excellent trip to Istanbul, it was a wonderful experience. The training centre at Koc University is first class, with a cadaveric operative facility beyond what I have previously come across. The symposium itself enabled exchange of ideas and opportunities to learn about recent developments in sub-specialist areas of urology.

Mr. Alastair Lamb
MA(Oxon) MBChB(Edin)
PhD(Cam) FRCS(Urol)
Consultant Urological Surgeon
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Department of Urology
Oxford

I really enjoyed our time there. For starters we were hosted so well for the whole time with such attention to detail and thoughtfulness – it was clearly a lot of work and it really showed. And as for the course specifically, I really did feel it was well organised and a good range of topics in 2 days. I was hugely impressed by the RMK AIMES facility and enjoyed our tour of the hospital. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into how to provide a world-class surgical simulation suite. The cadaveric RARP worked well and, with the high faculty to student ratio, we were able to offer very in-depth tuition over the four-hour period. My impression was that the two delegates got a lot out of it. Overall, from the presentations and conversations socially, it was a real pleasure to meet a group of urologists who seem to have such a thoughtful and considered approach to urological practice, something that we try to embody in Oxford. In that sense we seem to have a lot in common and I really hope we can follow through on some of the offers of further collaboration, particularly on the scientific front.

Mr. Ben Turney
DPhil (Oxon) MSc (Oxon)
MA (Cantab) FRCS(Urol) PGDipE
Consultant Urological Surgeon
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Department of Urology
Oxford
I have travelled internationally to give training and teaching in Urology. The RMK Aimes facility is one of the best I have ever seen. The access to equipment (robotic, laparoscopic, ureteroscopic) and cadavers is unparalleled. A facility such as this should be in use all the time to improve surgical standards. For centuries, Istanbul has been a meeting point for Europe, the Middle East and Asia. With this facility there is an excellent opportunity to create an international surgical training hub for surgical/urological training.

COURSE PARTICIPANTS’ COMMENTS

Dr. Dhaval Desai, MD, MCh
2023
Assistant Professor
Department of Urology
B.J.M.C & Civil Hospital Ahmedabad
Gujarat, India

It gives me immense pleasure and joy to write about how amazing experience I had at RMKAIMES & Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey To begin with I am grateful to whole urology faculty at Koç University specially Dr Prof Balbay sir & Dr Prof Erdem Canda sir for conducting such top notch symposium and workshop which young urologist got exposed. Symposium which touched down every aspect of Urology and highest standards of presentation with case based discussion with lot of inputs from different speciality dealing with Uro-oncology has been very good learning session. Regarding Cadaveric Hands on Robotic Radical Prostectomy workshop for me it was totally unexpected surreal experience. Having such greats in this field by your side like Dr Richard Bell, Dr Prof Balbay & Dr Alaistar Lamb teaching indepth every detail aspect was a truly meaningful Hands on workshop. They were really patient in imparting us with skills and minute details how to perform Robotic Radical Prostectomy. Facility for workshop at RMKAIMES is the best I have came across with world class infrastructure and say the least I was amazed. Even got the opportunity to observe other workshop was very helpful. For me the cherry on top was the personal touch and hospitality by Dr Prof Erdem Canda sir and Dr Prof Balbay sir. I had amazing local cuisine at the very best Restaurant. Enjoyed the food and talks with the esteemed colleagues and seniors over dinner. And Istanbul City was the perfect venue to host such great workshop with perfect blend of history and modernisation. Word of mouth by me will be – it is highly recommended to Young Urologist who want to further progress in their academic career and learn basics of Robotics with meaningful hands on workshop, then this is exactly the workshop we should get enrolled at RMKAIMES & Koç University at Istanbul, Turkey.
Memorable

Mr. Vivek Kumar
2023
Reconstructive urologist
Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
United Kingdom

I work as a reconstructive urologist at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in United Kingdom. I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Istanbul and attend the Urology Symposium and Structured training organised by the Koc University and Oxford University. The symposium was excellent with lectures by world renowned clinicians, each expert in their fields. There were opportunities to interact face to face with these experts for further discussions. The lectures covered whole clinical range from cancers (diagnostics and treatments) to benign and reconstructive urology. There were guest speakers from other European countries, UK and USA. I attended the hands-on course on Artificial Urinary Sphincters and Penile Prosthesis using fresh frozen cadavers. The faculty conducting the course (Mr Reynard and Mr Yassin) were brilliant and very thorough in explaining the basic principles and taking us through the procedures. There were 2 candidates per cadaver which was very good. The cadaveric lab itself was massive and very well equipped. I managed to have a look around and saw Mr Bell and Mr Lamb conducting robotic prostatectomy course and making it very interactive and interesting. There were people from overseas who attended these courses. The course organisation was extremely good, and we were looked after very well. During dinners we were able to socialise with other faculty members and attendees. The hotel stay was very comfortable, and the dinners were very nicely organised in elite Turkish restaurants. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and informative and educative experience. I hope they are able to continue conducting the symposium and the courses on a regular basis. Special thanks to symposium & course secretaries Mr Canda and Mr Keskin for the wonderful events who looked after us very well.

Dr. Aldo Meza
2023
Hospital Universitario de Navarra
Department of Urology
Spain

My name is Aldo Meza, I’m a senior resident from Hospital Universitario de Navarra, Spain. I had the opportunity to perform a robotic prostatectomy on a human cadaver. It was my first time at the RMK AIMES training center and it totally surprised me. All the organization and the structure with many areas that help the trainees to improve our surgical skills, and of course, the willingness to teach. The course started at noon, and we did robotic prostatectomy (Da Vinci), we were supervised by Dr. Canda, Dr. Balbay Dr. Lamb and Dr. Bell, the last two were invited from Oxford University. They helped us and give us all the tips and tricks to perform this type of surgery. I am very grateful for all the good time we had and the science we shared.

General Info