Visit to Kuwait City

I have spent some days in Kuwait visiting my colleagues at the Al-Amiri Hospital. They have adopted the Greenlight HPS technology for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, and I went there to give them a hand with their first cases.


We did seven surgical procedures. First I did two operations, explaining the technique.

Then three Kuwaiti urologists from Al-Amiri Hospital performed the rest of the operations under my supervision, with great enthusiasm for this technique that allows patients to recover surprisingly fast. It was very impressive how well they did their first cases on their own.

On Monday night, we got together with other urologists from Kuwait City and Saudi Arabia, also interested to learn about the technique. I reviewed some basic science concepts, surgical technique and results, with a very interesting discussion at the end.



It has been a great experience, Kuwait is a modern and vibrant city, and all the people I met here were really nice and warm. I had a great time.

2nd Meeting on Urology for GPs and Urology Residents

Today I participated in this congress addressed to primary care physicians, organised by my colleague and friend. Dr. Juan Carlos Ruiz de la Roja. The meeting gathered more than 300 GPs and urology residents and there were 26 prestigious urologists from all over Spain as faculty.


Dr. Ruiz de la Roja, besides being a great urologist is a first class medical communicator and author of the famous book "Let's talk about your prostate (hablamos de tu prostata?)" a highly recommended read for men and women alike, available at Amazon.

Wonderful Istanbul

Last thursday I travelled to Istanbul, Turkey, to participate in the international meeting "Hands on Live Endoscopic BPH & Stone treatment" organised by the ESUT (European Society of Uro-Technoogy) and the Turkish Urological Association.

Istanbul is a city between Europe and Asia, crossed by the Bosphorus and a mixture of culture, influences and religions. A remarkable place. One would like to be able to dedicate more time for tourism and less to work in places such as this.


After arriving we celebrated a reception dinner, where Dr. Jens Rassweiler from Germany surprised us all and played the guitar live and Prof. Dr. Ali Riza Kural sang classic symphonic turkish songs as well as modern ones (I bought one of his records in a music shop).

Then the congress started. I first participated in a "hands on" training session in which the attendees could try technology with their own hands using surgical models. We usually use bull prostates to evaluate these new surgical instruments. There was of course a Greenlight HPS laser and I was there to answer questions on laser prostatectomy.


Then I left towards the hospital, where I performed an operation that was retransmitted to the congress venue. The patient had a 65 cc prostate. The operation was uneventful, unfortunately we did not get much time left and the operation was not broadcasted entirely.



The congress followed with very interesting sessions on endourology with many live surgical procedures. I had some time to visit the Great Bazar and I entered a nearby Hammam, a Turkish bath, to enjoy the sauna and a Turkish foam massage!! An unforgettable experience that I recommend.

It was sad to have to go back, Istanbul is one of the most fascinating cities in the world.

Helsinki University Hospital

I am writing this post from Brussels. I am returning to Madrid, waiting at the airport (my flight has been delayed) after spending two days in Helsinki to participate in a symposium on Greenlight laser prostatectomy for the treatment of Benign prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH).

The programme of the meeting

The symposium took place in one of the buildings of the Helsinki University Hospital, where I first gave a lecture covering physical basis of laser prostatic treatments, and mainly recommendations on surgical technique.

Then we went to the surgical theatre, where I performed a Greenlight prostatectomy in a patient while I anwered the questions coming from the auditorium. The Auditorium was equipped with a direct link to the theatre, and urologists and nurses could witness the operations and formulate questions.


Then we ate something and then Dr. Hannu Koistinen (in the photo below) did a second operation.


A very nice scientific session. Both patients recovered very fast. I love Finland... Today I go back to my clinics and I will also see patients tomorrow. Then on thursday I depart to Istambul, Turkey.