Description
Professor Henry Woo is a urological surgeon specialising in surgery of the prostate. Henry Woo is a urological surgeon sub-specialising in surgery of the prostate. He cares for men with suspected or already diagnosed prostate cancer as well as men with urinary complaints. He has both a national and international reputation for his work in the area of prostate disease. Appointments to see Henry Woo are made by calling 02-9473 8765 or alternatively, email to front desk@urologist.net.au A search on Dr Google will reveal a large volume of information about his academic and professional standing. He does not believe in aggressive self promotion, as the best advertisement for his services are his former and current patients. He does not believe in embellishment of his credentials by saying he is the best, the first, the most etc as these statements have little relationship to ability and empathy as an expert surgeon.
He is a Professor of Surgery at the Sydney Medical School of the University of Sydney. His primary practice location is at the Sydney Adventist Hospital.
He has a strong record of academic pursuit. He has published over 130 peer reviewed papers and several book chapters (RG score 41 and h-index 23). He is on the Executive Committee of the Asian Pacific Prostate Society (APPS) and is on the Editorial Board of a number of journals including European Urology, BJUI, Asian Journal of Urology, Prostate International, Prostate Cancer Prostatic Diseases and World Journal of Men's Health. He is an Associate Editor of Prostate Cancer Prostate Diseases journal (IF 2014 = 3.425) and was the foundation Editor in Chief of BJUI Knowledge. He is a peer reviewer for all of the major urolgoical journals.
He is passionate about clinical trials and is a Board Director of the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP). He is also a Board Director of the Australian Urological Foundation (AUF) which is a charitable organisation supporting research in the field of urology.
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Prize to be established in honour of Ann Formaz-Preston https://www.facebook.com/SydneyAdventistHospitalClinicalSchool/posts/1211528355632532
Photos from Professor Henry Woo's post
Recently, I diagnosed an early stage and favourable prognosis bladder cancer that was seen in a urinary bladder. The appearances reminded me of the Great Barrier Reef. For a bit of festive fun, I tweeted a representative image of the tumour and explained to followers that it was unlikely that we would find Nemo. My urological colleague Dr Ruth Collins was simply too good with her response. Enjoy!
Large Study Finds No Link Between Vasectomy and Prostate Cancer Risk
Is There Really a Link Between Vasectomy and Prostate Cancer? The link takes you to a story on the latest study of this subject matter and basically the answer is "No". Below is a cut and paste of an article that I wrote on the subject a couple of years ago but relevant now in the context of this recent study. (for the TL:DR of the text below - the answer is NO) Wide scale media reports on the risk of vasectomy for prostate cancer followed the publication of a large long term follow up cohort study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology 2014. The findings are based upon the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) which is a men’s health study that commenced in 1986. The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute and conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health. For this study, the 12,321 men who had vasectomies were compared with the 37,804 men who had not undergone vasectomy with regard to the risk of subsequently being diagnosed with prostate cancer. What where the study findings? During 24 years of follow-up, a total of 6,023 cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed. About 25% of the cancers were either high-grade (732) or lethal cases (811). After adjusting for confounding factors, men who had a vasectomy had a 10% increased relative risk of developing prostate cancer compared to those who had not undergone vasectomy. When the data was sub-analysed for the cancer than counts, the increased relative risk was high grade cancer, advanced stage disease or mortality was 22%, 20% and 19% respectively. In other words, about a 20% increased relative risk of having a serious prostate cancer How do we interpret these findings? Firstly, any associated between vasectomy and prostate cancer doesn’t make sense. There is no convincing biological reason why any such cause-effect relationship would be plausible. Secondly, the HPFS study results are out of keeping with the weight of international research findings on the subject. When the same authors first published on the subject in 1993, the results were essentially the same. Subsequent meta-analyses and expert reviews of the literature by professional bodies such as the American Urological Association found that the overall weight of literature to be sufficient to debunk the findings of the 1993 study and come out with the bold statements “vasectomy is not a risk factor” for prostate cancer. In reality, nothing has changed but for the fact that this same study has been published again but with longer term follow up. Thirdly, we can make associations look impressive when we talk in terms of relative risk, even if we correct for known biases, as the study authors have done. The absolute difference in prostate cancer diagnosis between the two groups is a mere 0.21%. Having argued that the risk is low, we do need to need to consider that this study, in spite of a number of limitations, is one of the most comprehensive on the subject. The study has been performed by reputable researchers with independent hard funding and reported with respectably long follow up. How do we advise our patients? In effect, nothing has changed since the authors first published their findings in 1993. Back then, the study received global news coverage. This pales into insignificance compared to extensive and lingering on-line news coverage and social media chatter that exists today. The key thing that has changed, is the extent of public awareness about these research findings. There is no right or wrong answer as to how we should advise our patients. I am not personally convinced of there being a significant link between vasectomy and prostate cancer risk. However, in this age of information technology and declining thresholds for individuals to attribute misfortune to somebody or some entity, my personal leaning would be towards advise of the existence of these study assertions. Men should consider the increased relative risk of clinically significant prostate cancer, which is in the order of around 20%, in the context of a very small absolute risk of 0.21%; they then need to decide for themselves if this is sufficiently materially significant to be deterred from undergoing vasectomy. http://www.cancer.org/research/acsresearchupdates/prostatecancer/study-finds-no-link-between-vasectomy-and-prostate-cancer-risk
For just over 3 months, I have been working at the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse. I have been appointed as the Director of Uro-Oncology and as Professor of Robotic Cancer Surgery through the Central Clinical School of the University of Sydney. I continue to hold my position as Professor of Surgery at the Sydney Adventist Hospital Clinical School, also of the University of Sydney. I now spend approximately half of my time at each of these superb institutions. The uro-oncology service (dealing with cancers associated with the genito urinary tract such as prostate, bladder, kidney and testis in particular) is a relatively new service at Lifehouse. I have brought in a team of superbly trained urologists and each of them brings special skills that will enable us to provide a comprehensive service. They are listed on the Lifehouse website. Over the past 3 months, a multidisciplinary Prostate Cancer Clinic has commenced where urological surgeons consult alongside both medical and radiation oncologists. The clinic will provide a rapid assessment service and it is hoped that the streamlined rapid access approach will reduce patient anxiety associated with 'waiting'. Other clinics will be initiated in the new year. A uro-oncology multidisciplinary team meeting structure has begun and this provides a forum where patient cases may receive multiple inputs from cancer experts - it is like bringing multiple 'second' opinions into the one room to present a consensus opinion on the most appropriate options for cancer care. Of particular note is the commencement of an MDT that is totally dedicated to prostate cancer. Educational activities have commenced with a successful GP forum a few weeks ago and towards the end of November, we will hold a specialist CPD event when we will have the privilege of having the renown Professor Neil Fleshner from the University of Toronto visit Lifehouse for roundtable discussions on state of the art patient care initiatives. I have been really impressed with the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse over these past few months and it is such a privilege to be working in a research rich environment that strives to provide first class patient care and access to the very latest in evidenced based treatment protocols and technology.
Professor Henry Woo's cover photo
Unexpected bonus may be hidden in novel treatment for male flow problems
Prostatic Arterial Embolisation of the Prostate is relative new treatment option for benign prostate obstruction. This is a procedure performed by interventional radiologists. The arteries leading into the prostate are blocked off and this leads to shrinkage of affected areas of the prostate. Like many new procedures, the initial results seem to be quite promising but over time we learn more about the longer term effectiveness and side effects associated with the procedure. Jill Margo, the Health Reporter for the Australian Financial Review has written an excellent piece about this technology. I was asked for expert comment and in short, I have stated that the procedure remains experimental. http://www.afr.com/lifestyle/health/mens-health/possible-hidden-benefits-in-a-new-treatment-for-men-with-flow-problems-20161027-gsbvd8
Weight, waistline link to prostate cancer
A man's waist line can make all difference to his health. This also includes his risk of developing prostate cancer. Not only is the risk higher, the risk of the cancer at diagnosis being of a more aggressive nature is higher. When it comes to the risk of cancer returning after initially successful treatment, the large waist line also places a man at greater risk of any recurrence also being of a more aggressive nature. Men, keep that waistline down - don't let it get above 102cm. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/06/02/weight-waistline-link-prostate-cancer
A Better Prostate-Cancer Test?
Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer will die WITh their disease rather than FROM their disease. A challenge is identify which ones will have an aggressive behaviour that warrants treatment and those that will follow an insolent course and therefore not require treatment. A possible solution might be the use of biomarker tests that will help stratify men which cancers are aggressive or indolent in behaviour. This is a link to a Wall Street Journal article that nicely summarises the use of biomarker tests to predict which prostate cancers are ones to worry about in the future and therefore ought to be treated (Hat tip: Dr Stacy Loeb from NYU) http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-better-prostate-cancer-test-1462819119
Timeline Photos
The operating theatre is fantastic place for medical students to visit. Not only for interesting and interactive learning, it can also be fun. By creating a positive experience for medical students, we can help attract the best and brightest to undertake a career in surgery. One of my vested interests is to ensure that there will be great surgeons to look after me in the future should I ever need their services.
Timeline Photos
Is there anything special about pomegranate? Unfortunately not as far as treating prostate cancer recurrence is concerned. The best way to test the effectiveness of a treatment is through a randomised controlled trial where subjects and investigators are blinded to whether pomegranate or placebo is administered. Pomegranate in this setting was shown to be of no value. This excellent study was published in the Nature owned journal called Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases and is open access for all to read. http://www.nature.com/pcan/journal/v18/n3/full/pcan201532a.html (Disclosure: I am an Associate Editor of this journal)
I am pleased to announce my appointment to the position of full Professor of Surgery at the University of Sydney, taking effect on 1 May 2016. It is a great honour and privilege to be accepted into this position and I thank all who have supported me to achieve this career milestone.
Professor Henry Woo
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