










































This is an open access article under the terms of a license that permits non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.  
© 2021 The Authors. Société Internationale d'Urologie Journal, published by the Société Internationale d'Urologie, Canada.
This is an open access article under the terms of a license that permits non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.  
© 2021 The Authors. Société Internationale d'Urologie Journal, published by the Société Internationale d'Urologie, Canada.

77SIUJ.ORG SIUJ  •  Volume 2, Number 2  •  March 2021

THE SOCIÉTÉ INTERNATIONALE D'UROLOGIE JOURNAL

Striving for Global Representation
Peter Black, Editor-in-Chief  

Soc Int Urol J.2021;2(2):77–78

DOI: 10.48083/ VZQD4051

The third issue of the Société Internationale d’Urologie 
Journal hits many of the highlights of what we are trying 
to achieve with our fledgling journal. The truly global 
character and special f lavor of the SIUJ are coming 
to the fore. This in turn is ref lective of the mission 
of the larger SIU “to enable urologists in all nations, 
through international cooperation in education and 
research, to apply the highest standards of urological 
care to their patients.” We are a society of all urologists 
in all countries in the world, not limited by specific 
geographical or subspecialty boundaries. It is therefore 
critical that the pages of our journal represent broad 
global reach.

The most obvious example of this is Christian 
Agbo’s contribution to “Urology Around the World,” 
which attests to the trials and tribulations of stone 
management in Nasarawa State  in North Central 
Nigeria[1]. There is a clear sentiment in this article that 
Dr Agbo would like to be offering his patients more, as 
he strives to improve access to advanced technologies 
in a resource-poor setting. At the same time, those of 
us in resource-rich environments may contemplate our 
excesses in comparison to the limitations in Nigeria, 
and be reminded of our duty to use our resources 
responsibly, and to consider the environmental impact 
and sustainability of our practices. We also need to be 
thinking about how we can develop clinical practice 
guidelines that can be applied beyond the borders of the 
wealthiest countries, as outlined in the last issue of the 
SIUJ by German Patino et al.[2].

The collaborative work of Joyce Baard et a l. 
exemplifies global collaboration in research through the 
SIU network of urologists[3]. We are particularly proud 
to publish this first project of uCARE, the research 
arm of the SIU. The paper reports results derived from 
a prospective registry of ureteral stent insertion after 
ureteroscopy. The registry captured patients from 
50 centers in many different countries, ranging from  

Saudi Arabia to South Africa, and from Iran to Malaysia 
and Indonesia. The project reinforced connections 
between various national urological societies and the 
SIU. This paper ref lects the power of global research 
cooperation and provides a uniquely international 
perspective on this common urologic procedure. It 
fulfills the SIU’s objective to foster cooperation between 
urologists from all parts of the world despite differences 
in material conditions, professional concerns, and 
political views.

Ibrahem Ismail Samaha et al. report the results of a 
prospective randomized trial comparing a traditional 
transvesical approach for vesicovaginal fistula repair to a 
novel, potentially less invasive extravesical approach[4]. 
This type of surgery is particularly important in many 
regions of the world that make up key constituencies 
of the SIU, so we are especially proud that the first 
randomized controlled trial to be published in the SIUJ 
is on such a pertinent topic in global surgery.

Education is front and center in the SIU mission, 
and it is therefore only apt that Jessica DeLong and 
Ramón Virasaro describe in the pages of the SIUJ a 
curriculum that has been established for genitourinary 
reconstructive surgery in the Dominican Republic[5]. 
Wit h buy-in f rom a l l major sta keholders, t his 
curriculum has been launched successfully, and the 
first trainees have completed the program. This project 
has implications for global surgical training beyond the 
Caribbean, as it provides a model that is transferable to 
other health care settings.

As we continue to build the foundation of a new 
journal representing 10 000 SIU members from over  
130 countries worldwide, we strive to provide a vehicle 
for optimal communication of scientific information. 
Our global reach helps distinguish us in the crowded 
field of urologic journals.

http://www.siuj.org
mailto:editorinchief%40siuj.org?subject=SIUJ


78 SIUJ  •  Volume 2, Number 2  •  March 2021 SIUJ.ORG

EDITORIAL

References

1. Agbo C. Open Surgery for Urinary Stones in a Resource Poor Setting: 
A Look at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Nigeria. Soc Int 
Urol J.2021;2(2):79–81.DOI: 10.48083/KFQZ6048.

2. Patino G, Ndoye M, Thomas HS, Cohen AJ, Mmonu NA, Chu CE, et 
al. Use of urology-based clinical practice guidelines in international 
settings. Soc Int Urol J.2021;2(1):10–17. DOI: 10.48083/QVXE4949.

3. Dasgupta R, Ong TA, Lim J, Rajandram R, Gao X, Hakim L, et al. A 
global perspective of stenting after ureteroscopy: an observational 
multicenter cohor t study. Soc Int Urol J.2021;2(2):96 –105.DOI: 
10.48083/HRLS8587.

4. Samaha I, Taha KM, Elbabouly I, Ali M. Novel Extravesical Versus 
Transvesical Technique for Abdominal Repair of Vesicovaginal 
Fistula. Soc Int Urol J.2021;2(2):113–119.DOI: 10.48083/ TVYU2515.

5. DeLong J, Virasaro R. Genitourinar y reconstructive surger y 
curriculum and postgraduate training program development in 
the Caribbean. Soc Int Urol J.2021;2(2):106 –112.DOI: 10.48083/
RORD8326.

http://www.siuj.org

