Children's Medical Center to broadcast two corrective bladder surgeries live on the internet

Children's Medical Center (www.childrens.com) will help improve medical care for children around the world by broadcasting two surgeries live on the internet to help train doctors on the latest corrective bladder options.

In a unique outreach effort, Children's Urology Department will show "Robotic vs. Open Surgery" in this worldwide broadcast intended for pediatric urologists and pediatric surgeons. Two surgeries - one a traditional, open operation and the other performed using the da Vinci robot - will be broadcast to demonstrate the latest techniques for correcting neurogenic urinary incontinence for children with spina bifida and related conditions. Both surgeries will feature bladder neck reconstructions along with appendicovesicostomies - using the appendix to create a channel leading from the bladder to the outside of the body.

Dr. Warren Snodgrass, chief of Children's Urology Division and a professor and chief of Pediatric Urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, will perform the open surgery. Dr. Patricio Gargollo, director of Children's Pediatric Urology Minimally Invasive and Robotics Surgery and an assistant professor of Pediatric Urology at UT Southwestern, will perform the robotics surgery.

"Our Pediatric Urology program at Children's Medical Center and UT Southwestern was the first in the world to describe and publish this technique of robotic surgery for urinary incontinence," Gargollo said. "Currently, we have one of the country's busiest robotic and minimally invasive surgery programs. We also have one of the busiest centers for the treatment of children with spina bifida and neurogenic bladder. To this extent, we are very honored and proud to reach an international audience through this webinar with the hope of demonstrating to surgeons these novel techniques."

The webinar will cut doctors' continuing medical education costs, especially by reaching physicians in other countries who will not have to travel for this training. Participants will learn both open and minimally invasive surgical options for children with neurogenic bladders; discuss the evidence regarding surgical outcomes for these patients; and recognize the benefits of open and laparoscopic surgical approaches. Children's Urology Department is consistently ranked among the top pediatric urology programs in the country.

Urologists interested in learning the latest surgical skills can watch both surgeries live on the internet on Sept. 22 for a fee of $300. To register, go to www.childrens.com/CME or call (214) 456-2735. The course will provide up to 10 credits for physicians who watch the broadcast.

The traditional open surgery will begin at 7:30 a.m., while the robotic surgery will begin about 11:45 a.m.