The 78th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Urological Association (CUA) took place in bustling Montreal, Quebec, Canada from June 23-25, 2023, and hosted 962 registered participants—a record number! The entire meeting was masterfully organized and held under the tenure, guidance, and leadership of the CUA past-president, Dr Armen Aprikian.

The comprehensive program boasted a wide array of topics to enhance our knowledge and promote lively discussions among attendees. A total of 11 state-of-the-art speakers, both domestic and international, delivered captivating presentations on topics ranging from endourology to genitourinary malignancies to functional reconstructive urological surgeries. The scientific program also included an impressive 200 abstracts, with 30 podium presentations.

The meeting kicked off with an enlightening talk by Dr Mamta Gautam entitled, “Wellness as a Shared Responsibility,” which set a reflective tone to our meeting and was very well received by attendees. Dr Nicole Miller then shared her pearls of wisdom on holmium laser enucleation of the prostate, followed by a practical and entertaining talk by Dr Darron Smith on endourology. At our first annual dedicated Women in Urology State-of-the-Art talk, Dr Monica Farcas shared a fascinating introduction to an innovation pathway, and we closed the day with Dr Stéphane Bolduc’s CUA Scholarship Foundation lecture on his research adventures from urogenital tissue engineering to clinical investigation, followed by the awarding of this year’s scholarship recipients.

On day 2, Dr Nicholas Cost presented his work on the cytotoxic effect on the lower urinary tract of childhood cancer survivors. Our very own Dr Curtis Nickel gave a captivating talk about his search for the wild saw palmetto berry and a cautionary tale about all urological supplements. The focus then switched to prostate cancer, with Dr Eleni Efstathiou presenting on redefining precision in prostate cancer, followed by the Canadian Urological Oncology Group Lecture on prostate cancer systemic therapy delivered by Dr Kim Chi.

On the third and final day, Dr Lee Zhao presented his creative and engaging perspective on robotics for reoperative surgery, and Dr Bernie Bochner presented on the contemporary surgical management of high-risk bladder cancer. Last, but certainly not least, Dr Irwin Goldstein, a native Montrealer, concluded the series of state-of-the-art lectures with his talk on female sexual function and dysfunction, shedding light on this often-overlooked field of urology.

In addition to the state-of-the-art lectures, there were 7 highly engaging educational fora, carefully curated by our scientific program committee to cover pertinent topics for both academic and community-based practitioners.

The first forum addressed the latest advances on urolithiasis. We then had a comprehensive and multidisciplinary review of approaches to pelvic pain, providing very practical and useful management options. On the second day, a panel of pediatric and adult urologists presented on the transitional care of neurogenic bladder patients, followed by an educational forum on the management of advance prostate cancer. The final day featured a panel of urologists, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists discussing bladder preservation treatment options for bladder cancer and a review on the nonsurgical treatment of small renal masses. Finally, our last forum was a multidisciplinary presentation on urological care for the LGBTQ+ patient population.

Concurrently, several affiliated organizations also held meetings at the event, including the Genitourinary Medical Oncologists of Canada, the Urology Nurses of Canada, the Functional and Reconstructive Urology Society of Canada, the Pediatric Urologists of Canada, and the Canadian Endourology Group.

The enjoyment of the weekend was further enhanced by a social program that included a networking night at the iconic Montreal Windsor station, and a memorable President’s Banquet to close the event.

The CUA Annual Meeting always provides a wonderful opportunity to engage in informative, cutting-edge educational sessions and to network with peers in an intimate setting, and this year’s highly successful iteration was no exception.