O. Lenaine Westney, MD presented “Improving Patient Decision-Making in Urinary Diversion: Satisfaction Over Regret” during the 42nd Annual Ralph E. Hopkins Urology Seminar on February 1, 2023, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
How to cite: Lenaine, Westney O. “Improving Patient Decision-Making in Urinary Diversion: Satisfaction Over Regret.” February 1, 2023. Accessed Nov 2025. https://grandroundsinurology.com/improving-patient-decision-making-in-urinary-diversion-satisfaction-over-regret/
Improving Patient Decision-Making in Urinary Diversion: Satisfaction Over Regret – Summary
O. Lenaine Westney, MD examines the psychological and emotional impacts of urinary diversion, emphasizing how these procedures profoundly affect patients’ lives. She discusses the main types of urinary diversions—ileal conduit, continent cutaneous diversion, and orthotopic neobladder—detailing their indications, advantages, and potential complications.
Dr. Westney advocates for a collaborative approach in which urologists and patients engage in open dialogues about the risks and benefits of each urinary diversion method. She emphasizes the importance of integrating patients’ values, goals, and quality of life considerations into the treatment planning process.
Dr. Westney also addresses common sources of decisional regret among patients, such as unmet expectations and unanticipated complications. Utilizing case studies and real-world examples, Dr. Westney demonstrates how effective communication and patient-centered care can lead to higher satisfaction rates and reduced instances of regret.
About The 42nd Annual Ralph E. Hopkins Urology Seminar:
The Ralph E. Hopkins Urology Seminar is a multi-day meeting focused on training urologists in the latest in assessing, diagnosing, and treating urologic conditions in the clinical setting. Updates are provided on urologic cancers, stone disease, urologic reconstruction, female urology, infertility, sexual function, emerging surgical techniques, and general urology. The 42nd iteration of the meeting took place from February 1st to 4th, 2023, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
For further educational activities from this conference, visit our collection page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ouida L. Westney, MD, is a Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. Westney’s areas of clinical expertise include postprostatectomy incontinence, neurogenic voiding dysfunction, post-radiation urinary tract reconstruction, and urinary diversion. Her research focuses on the long-term sexual and voiding dysfunction in colorectal cancer patients, the progression of voiding symptoms in hypoestrogenic states, and post-prostatectomy urinary complications.
Dr. Westney earned her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and she has served as the Primary Urologic Reconstructive Surgeon in the Department of Urology at the University of Texas, where she emphasized clinical and research collaborations with colorectal, gynecologic oncology, and plastic surgery, with the goal of improving management and outcomes of urinary tract structural and functional disorders in patients with pelvic malignancy.
Dr. Westney has previously served the Houston, Texas, area as Chief of Urology Service and Medical Director in the Department of Urology with the Memorial Hermann Hospital System, the Department of Urology Division Head and Department of Urology Program Director at the University of Texas Medical School, and as a Fellowship Co-Director in the Department of Urology at the University of Texas Health Science Center. She has served as a member of numerous committees and sub-committees, including as part of the Memorial Hermann Hospital System on the Medical Information Committee, the Operating Room Committee, and the Clinical Information Systems Practice Committee, and as the Edward J. McGuire Distinguished Chair in Urology for C.R. Bard, Inc., in Houston, Texas. Dr. Westney has authored 151 articles and chapters dealing with the management of incontinence in high-risk patient populations, and she is active as a member of many local, national, and international surgical societies, including the International Continence Society (ICS) and the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine, and Urogenital Reconstructions (SUFU).
