Carlos R. Estrada Jr, MD, MBA, Editor
In the 5 years since the last pediatric urology-focused Urologic Clinics was published, the world has changed significantly. The global COVID-19 pandemic cost more than one million Americans their lives and forced an almost complete halting of the care of our patients for a few long and dark months. American politics are as polarized as ever, and profound differences in beliefs are increasingly affecting how we manage pediatric patients, particularly those with differences in sexual development and gender dysphoria. With these challenges swirling around us, our specialty remains steadfastly committed to the betterment of pediatric lives and tackling challenges that we have faced since the beginning of our specialty, namely, preservation of renal function, surgical correction of the common and complex urologic congenital problems, and management of pediatric urologic cancer. Advances in surgery, particularly in robotics, minimally invasive surgery, and miniaturization of endoscopic instruments, have brought new, innovative, and exciting solutions to these ongoing clinical challenges.
In this issue of the Urologic Clinics, an esteemed group of pediatric urologists present the most up-to-date information on topics that form the core of pediatric urology. These are broadly grouped into problems related to (1) urinary tract obstruction and vesicoureteral reflux, including those diagnosed prenatally, ureteropelvic junction obstruction, ureterocele, and primary reflux; (2) congenital differences that are associated with the biggest challenges and controversies in our specialty, including epispadias-exstrophy complex, neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction, differences in sex development, and hypospadias; (3) pediatric urologic cancer; and (4) common problems in pediatric urology, including pediatric urolithiasis and undescended testis. I anticipate that the reader will greatly enjoy the wonderful content and leave with an updated understanding of pediatric urology in 2023.
I would like to thank the authors for their hard work and commitment to academic pediatric urology. I am privileged to call them colleagues and grateful for their willingness to contribute to this issue.