Countdown to Rome: Prof. Tailly gives preview of hot topics at ICE25
With a month to go until the inaugural edition of the International Conference on Endourology in Rome, we spoke to Prof. Thomas Tailly (BE) to get his insights on the scientific programme. ICE25 is the first event organised by the EAU’s Endourology Section, itself a recently-formed entity under the leadership of Prof. Olivier Traxer (FR), and it will be held in the Italian capital on 27-29 November, 2025.
The conference will cover the full spectrum of endourological indications and related technologies, in an innovative format that includes “as-live” pre-recorded surgical demonstrations and in-depth abstract presentations. There is one additional major novelty in the programme, the so-called “Best endourologist” sessions. In sessions spread across the first two conference days, five challengers from across the world will be put on the spot with case presentations. Audience and expert voting will determine the winner.
Prof. Tailly is an academic urologist at the University of Ghent who works in all aspects of endourology, treating stones, BPH, NMIBC and UTUC: “anything I can put a scope in” in his own words. He is conducting research mainly in stones, including innovative uses of AI.
He is a board member of the Endourology section and in Rome, he will be moderating and speaking at several sessions as well as recording a case for the surgical sessions.
Prof. Tailly: What hot endourology topics will be covered in Rome?
“This is a short question with a very broad answer because endourology is a very dynamic field of urology. There’s always a lot of innovation going on which makes this field very exciting. I’ve been in the field for a while and never had a dull moment. There’s always another “hot topic” around the corner.”
“We always have new developments in laser technology, aspiration devices, automated pressure control, real time temperature and pressure sensing to help us be more efficient and proficient. artificial intelligence as an adjunct before, during and after any procedure to help us do better or more efficiently.”
“ICE25 is not only about stones, but for instance also antibiotic stewardship, new lasers for enucleation, en-bloc TURBT, the evolution of the role of endoscopic treatment for upper tract urothelial cancer and so much more.”
“What’s not necessarily a technical innovation but certainly a hot topic in my opinion: the increasing importance of patient-reported outcomes. These really shape how we will decide on which procedure we do, much more now than 20 years ago. Also the economic and ecological impact of our procedures is gaining traction as well. This is more something for the next 5-10 years but we already need to be thinking about it.”
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Carefully prepared as-live surgical cases
“There is an ongoing debate about pre-recorded, as-live and live surgery. This debate has been ongoing for over a decade. The EAU published their policy about live surgery in 2014 and I think that it is important to adhere to that policy when doing live surgery. I think the educational value of procedural videos, be it live or pre-recorded cannot be refuted or neglected and at an endourology meeting like ICE25 it is almost a must to have procedures demonstrated and discussed.”
“The main reason to have pre-recorded cases I think is patient safety. Performing live surgery can be stressful for the surgeon, especially if not operating in his or her home institution, while being watched by several hundred colleagues. Recording the procedure without that stress may therefore benefit the surgeon and the patient.”
“Some of the recordings for ICE25 will all be done in my home institution, in Ghent. My hospital and nursing staff have experience with live surgery and with having a recording crew on site, which I think is also important. This has to be a well-oiled machine when we are recording so that everything runs as smooth as possible. There are a lot of people that need to be involved with a recording like that and coordinating that is essential to provide a comfortable environment for the patient, the surgeon, all the staff in the room as well as the recording crew. When all that is taken into account, it should be smooth sailing for the recording.”
“The recording crew comes for one day. That’s the case we record, whether it goes perfectly, or if it needs troubleshooting. We’re moderating while the procedure is being filmed, having a conversation about choices the surgeon makes in equipment, approach etc. We will then fast-forward or pause whenever necessary when presenting the case in Rome. This kind of on-location moderation is something you don’t see very often at an EAU event. It’s thought-provoking: it can work differently. I am very curious to see how it goes.”
Innovative formats at ICE25
“The ‘Best Endourologist 2025: Clash of the Titans’ challenger session is something entirely novel. I myself am intrigued and very much looking forward to how that will develop. I cannot say too much about it yet! We will see how contestants from around the world compete head to head.”
“What I find an absolute added value of this meeting are the moderated poster sessions. Instead of a few minutes to present three slides and just enough time to answer a single question, presenters will get 15 minutes. This is so much more time to present their work and get feedback through an extended questions round after the presentation. This is really valuable for anyone doing research and presenting their work. You get so much more back from presenting in this way and this may even shape how you eventually write the study or develop a new study from this.”
New EAU Endourology Section taking charge
“This new body was formed just a little over a year ago and we are already doing a conference of this size with such a varied programme. I think that really demonstrates how well we are collaborating as a group. In addition, you may have noticed that there’s already quite a bit of published literature under the banner of the EAU Endourology Section, which is another testament of our joined forces in being scientifically active. I think we all work really well together to make the best of this new section. The ICE meeting will be a perfect example of the group’s efforts.”
All in all...
“ICE25 will appeal to a broad audience. Endourology is performed by a lot of general urologists as well. We all know the obstructive stone that comes in at night or in the evenings during the on-call hours. Every urologist has dealt with these. The same goes for NMIBC and enlarged prostates, for which TURB and TURP are widely practiced, not only by endourologists. Nowadays we see some more subspecialisation, especially with enucleation, but I think the topic still appeals to the broad urological community. We’re fortunate to have such a broad subspecialisation, making a conference that’s very clinically relevant, and good for everyone.”