>> Narrator: Here at the
Brady Urological Institute
at Johns Hopkins Hospital,
we are proud pioneers
in urological advances.
Exploring new diagnostics,
treatments, and protocols,
we are reshaping the
futures of men and women
who previously had limited options.
Here are three examples.
>> Since the first radical
prostatectomy was performed
here at Johns Hopkins in 1904,
we have been pushing the boundaries.
Upwards of a million men a
year in the United States
undergo a prostate biopsy,
and many more face the uncertainty
of a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Urologists at Johns Hopkins have embraced
a new biopsy approach
called the perineal biopsy,
which gives us some unique advantages
to performing a prostate biopsy.
These include less use of antibiotics,
less infection risk for the patient,
and an ability to sample
areas of the prostate
that are not approachable
through the transrectal
traditional approach.
When we couple technology
with this biopsy,
we're able to then get
additional diagnostics
including genomics and the
latest in imaging technology
such as PSMA-PET scan to
obtain additional information
for our patients.
This information is integrated
in our precision medicine
center of excellence and
our analytical platforms
to give us the latest information
that is specific to our patients.
We use tools developed
here at Johns Hopkins,
such as the Partin
tables, the Han nomograms,
and our new app for active
surveillance that helps predict
when a patient requires another biopsy.
And thus we avoid overtreatment,
we minimize undertreatment,
and we're able to provide
the patient with a management
strategy for their cancer
that fits their unique situation.
>> Narrator: Another unique innovation
at the Brady Urological Institute
is the way that we manage
chronic scrotal pain.
>> Chronic scrotal pain
is a very common condition
in the United States.
It consumes a large portion
of urology practices.
One procedure that we perform often
that causes a lot of
this chronic scrotal pain
is the vasectomy procedure.
About 500,000 procedures
are performed each year,
and unfortunately, about one
to two percent of these men
will develop chronic scrotal pain.
A lot of the pain that arises
after a vasectomy procedure
comes from inappropriate
nerve signals that travel from
the vas deferens nerves up to the brain.
And the way that urologists
have typically treated this
using a procedure that's
called a microsurgical
denervation of the spermatic chord.
Unfortunately, this procedure
has about a 70% success rate.
What we do here at Johns
Hopkins that's unique
is that we offer patients
an image-guided approach,
where we identify the nerves
with millimeter accuracy
using a 3 Tesla MRI.
We can take these patients
into the operating room
and resect their nerve fibers higher up
and offer them much lower
morbidity with their procedure
by taking out those selective nerves.
>> Narrator: Complex
cancers demand complex teams
to care for patients.
Innovation focused on how we work together
is improving patient
outcomes and satisfaction.
>> Like Paul.
Paul is a pharmacist and father of two,
who presented with a 20-year
history of an inoperable,
benign tumor in his abdomen.
When we saw him, he had
been on pain medications
for over a year and could no longer eat.
We quickly evaluated him,
ran some advanced diagnostics,
and realized that he had a complex cancer
that would require both
systemic therapy and surgery.
We initiated his therapy within that week,
and a few weeks later, he
had a two-day operation
and is now cancer-free.
To pull this off requires capacity,
commitment, and expertise.
One such example are our Go Teams.
>> A Go Team is a team of 25 individuals
who all mobilize to provide
timely, guideline-based
complex care.
This includes surgeons,
oncologists, nurses,
as well as hospital administrators.
All of these individuals
have signed a pledge,
guaranteeing that patients
can be seen in two weeks.
>> Phillip: Complex care
can involve surgery,
advanced diagnostics,
or medical therapies.
We make sure to deliver all of these
under the umbrella of Johns
Hopkins in a timely fashion.
>> Narrator: Our work
has changed the prospects
for patients like Paul.
All the individuals at the
Brady Urological Institute
have dedicated their careers
to advancing the field of urology,
much like we have for over 100 years.
People saving people.
