Urologist receives award for work in improving young men’s health
A Urologist at Barts Health NHS Trust has received a prestigious award from the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) for his high impact research into a serious condition faced by many young men.
Mr Richard Menzies-Wilson, Clinical Research Fellow in Urology at Whipps Cross Hospital, received the Winter Short Papers Prize at the RSM’s winter meeting for his innovative national work on Testicular Torsion.
Testicular Torsion occurs when a testicle twists causing it to lose its blood supply. When this happens there is a crucial window of about six hours to intervene. Torsion occurs in about 1 in 4,000 men under 25 years old and is the most common reason for men in this cohort to lose a testicle. Salvage rates have not improved for around 20 years, with testicles saved in only 60 per cent of cases.
Richard Menzies-Wilson, working with Professor James Green, obtained data from NHS England of all the ‘serious incidents’ which occurred in England over a 12 year period relating to testicular torsion. This data was then analysed to establish the common factors which result in lost testicles.
They found that there were 1,009 serious incidents over 12 years and that the common reasons for delays in treatment included misdiagnosis, doctors being unclear on which specialists to refer cases to, cases not being recognised as urgent, and delays in ambulance transfers.
The team hopes that this information will now be used to improve the salvage rate of torsions nationally.
“Barts Health has been leading the way in Testicular Torsion nationally. This latest work is incredibly important for patients and it is humbling that it has now been recognised by such a prestigious institution,” said Richard Menzies-Wilson. “We now have a roadmap of the most important areas to focus efforts on to improve salvage rates across England, so I hope that this recognition will allow us to go on and use the data to have a genuinely positive impact on patients.”
Photo caption: Mr Mike Dineen, President of the RSM Section of Urology presenting first prize, at the Winter Meeting on Innovation, to Mr Richard Menzies-Wilson, Clinical Research Fellow in Urology at Whipps Cross Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust.