It’s been a busy time in our Urogynecology Division — and I would like to share some highlights from 2023.
We are very proud that our newly graduated fellow (Dr. Humara Edell, now on staff at Sunnybrook since July 2023) and our current second-year urogynaecology fellow (Dr. Yasir Bukhari) recently won awards at international conferences!
International Awards:
Edell won best clinical abstract at the International Continence Society (ICS) meeting that was held from Sept. 27 to 29 here in Toronto (“Laser Treatment for Stress Urinary Incontinence – a randomized controlled trial," Edell H, Perruzza D, Jarvi S, Kim K, Sultana R, Alavi N, Lawrence J, Kiss A, Cao X, Boyd K, Bodley J, Carr L, Gagnon L, Herschorn S, Kung RC and Lee P.)
Bukhari won best video abstract (joint) at the International Continence Society meeting ("Combined laparoscopic and vaginal radical Prolift mesh excision with left sacral nerve root detrapment," Bukhari Y, Sermer C and Lemos N.)
Edell won best multispecialty video at the Society of Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeons’ annual conference held in Orlando from Oct. 4 to 7 ("Endoscopic Resection of Cervical Cerclage Eroded through the Bladder", Edell H, Kung RC, Herschorn S and Lee P.)
National Award:
Dr. Colleen McDermott was awarded top 5 abstracts at the Canadian Society for Pelvic Medicine's Annual Meeting in Canmore, Alta. ("The Visual Assessment of Vaginal Atrophy - valid, objective, observational measurement (VAVAvoom) Study: A correlation study between the visual assessment and objective measures of vaginal atrophy", deKemp E, Jacobson M, Dudley B, Lomash R, Wang S, Huszti E and McDermott CD.)
Finally, among our many publications, we also have several select higher-impact articles from 2023:
Publications
Dr. May Alarab and Dr. Oksana Shynlova continue to elevate our Division’s basic science profile, publishing their work on the “Differentiation of patient-specific void urine-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells to fibroblasts and skeletal muscle myocytes” in Scientific Reports.
McDermott, the current chair of the scientific committee with the American Urogynecology Society (AUGS), is the lead author on the AUGS Clinical Consensus Statement on Postoperative Urinary Retention.
Dr. Nucelio Lemos, who recently co-chaired a highly successful international clinical meeting (ICS), published his work in Neuromodulation: “Rehabilitation of People with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Using a Laparoscopically Implanted Neurostimulator: Impact on Mobility and Urinary, Anorectal, and Sexual Functions”
Dr. Michael Chaikof’s article “Surgical Sexism in Canada: Structural Bias in Reimbursement of Surgery for Women” in the July 2023 Canadian Journal of Surgery garnered a lot of interest as well as multiple media interviews, as it discussed the double discrimination against both female physicians and their female patients.
Dr. Laura Jane McLeod, one of our first-year urogynecology fellows, published an important and timely article in Canadian Medical Association Journal highlighting the significance of pelvic organ prolapse. This article was the “Editor’s pick” and among the top 10 most-read in the August 2023 issue.
