The specialty of urology has evolved into a less surgical and more cognitive discipline. Indeed, most of what we do in our daily clinical practice involves nonoperative patient care. However many of our patients present with, what are perceived as, emergencies. Such ‘emergencies’ encompass a broad spectrum of diagnoses, ranging from the often mundane hematuria and orchalgia to the more striking renal colic, symptomatic urinary retention, Fournier’s gangrene and testicular torsion, to name but a few. Frequently these emergencies require swift but prudent judgment in order to achieve a satisfactory outcome
