The bond of friendship between the AUA and the Urological Society of India (USI) was established many years ago. Since 2011, the AUA has been holding a joint session at the annual meeting of the USI in addition to the resident course. Dr Aseem Shukla, Assistant Secretary for Asia, led the delegation at the meeting in New Delhi this year (see Figure). Lori Agbonkhese, the tireless International Education Lead at the AUA, puts it all together.

Figure. AUA stars shine bright at USI 2023.

Dr Jaspreet Sandhu from Memorial Sloan Kettering and Guidelines Chair, Dr Pramod Reddy from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Dr Ashok Hemal, and I were part of the team this year.

Dr R. Sabnis, USI President, and Dr R. Keshavamurthy, USI Secretary, chaired the session along with Dr Shukla.

A panel discussion on managing difficult cases of urinary tract infection was led by Dr Rishi Nayyar, and the panelists were Dr Nitin Kekre, Dr S. K. Singh, and Dr Jaspreet Sandhu. The AUA White Paper on antibiotic stewardship was highlighted along with need for antibiotics stewardship.

Dr Shukla and Dr Hemal presented keynote lectures on hypospadias and renal cancer, respectively, that were well received based on the audience participation. A session on male incontinence was led by Dr Sandhu, who not only presented the AUA Male Incontinence Guidelines, but also provided the technical nuances of artificial urinary sphincter as it is not commonly done in India due to cost. Dr S. Kulkarni provided a specialist view of incontinence in patients with urethral stricture.

The female incontinence session was led by Dr Sanjay Sinha, a key opinion leader in the field from India. I presented a urological perspective of anterior compartment repair as well as philosophical view of the future of stress urinary incontinence management.

The field of stress urinary incontinence has seen transformational changes from tissue-based suspension procedures and bulking to mesh-based mid urethral sling. The mesh controversy, despite long-term data and support from all societies, has led to a ban in certain countries. The resurgence of a new bulking agent was discussed. The holy grail of cell-based therapy and the evolving field of regenerative pharmacology were also discussed.

Each year this session builds on mutual respect and education need. Dr Arun Chawla, the Education Director, is a visionary leader, and in the era of tele-education is planning on year-round education sessions to be supplemented by the resident course and the annual meeting.

Dr Denstedt and Dr Shukla have done a wonderful job in maintaining the bond despite the COVID interruption.