Do we really always need gimmicks?

Nowadays we all can look around with satisfaction. " We " – the urological community, of course. Developments in surgical equipment and successes of new operational techniques contribute to the fact that urology sets the trends in contemporary medicine. Endoscopic and laparoscopic techniques seized a significant volume of interventional procedures, adding a new dimension to urology. For its significant advancement, endoscopic, laparo-scopic and more generally minimally invasive procedures are now the mainstay of contemporary urology. It has became a real cliche to mention that endoscopy is the standard treatment of BPH or nephrolithiasis. We may see a steadily rising number of procedures supported by advanced tools. It is a good thing, it broadens our treatment potential, although it should not overshadow the real, noble purpose: to cure, to operate on a patient by means of the most simple, the most effective and the most harmless technique. Particularly, minimally invasive procedures gain popularity (sometimes, as though, to excess) with a view to reduce surgical trauma, to improve aesthetics and to shorten recovery. Contrary to " conventional " open surgery such operations require specific orientation in a patient's " inner space " – it means, a proper localization of the object of procedure due to the limited field of view. Targeting of a renal stone during percutaneous lithotrypsy is a typical example. Surgeon has to translate and to imagine, two– dimensional pictures seen on the screen of an ultra-sound or X–ray equipment or on 2D TV–monitors into virtual 3D arrangement. For this reason, years of long experience in that kind of surgery is of crucial importance. To move within patient's body during laparoscopic procedure, the surgeon is aided by new systems of 3D picture conversion, something on the model of popular 3D TV sets. But one of the main challenges for successful outcome of any given minimally inva-sive surgery still remains a choice of optimal access to the point of interest (let's say to the renal stone). Fortunately, tech–enthusiasts, some of them even from outside the sphere of medicine, rushed to our aid. Last years brought numerous papers concerning 3D reconstruction of plain images to meet surgeon's requirements. Much to my surprise, I have found that for our everyday surgical duties we should understand a formula like this: T S (p)=η(IIS(P s (p k)II 2 − IIp II 2)C(P s (p k)) [hell's bells !!!!!], or even more frightening ones, believe me …