Ask any urologist. Intravenous pyelography (IVP), like kissing your spouse good-bye in the morning or brushing your teeth before going to bed, goes hand in hand with transurethral prostatectomy (TURP).
The most commonly performed urologic procedure in America, TURP until now has been almost invariably preceded by IVP for detection of any pathological condition in the upper urinary tract.
But a new study conducted at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington by Department of Urology chairman J. William McRoberts, MD, and urology residents Daniel L. Bauer, MD, and Robert W. Garrison, MD, indicates that in most cases IVP before TURP is probably not necessary.
"When we reviewed a specially selected group of 601 patients who had had routine IVP prior to transurethral resections," explained Bauer, "we found positive results so seldom that we believe the test is not indicated and certainly not cost-effective."
However, Bauer was quick to