Dr. Álvaro Juárez

A specialist in urology from the Puerto Real Hospital in 1998, Dr. Álvaro Juárez has focused on the minimally invasive treatment of prostate, kidney, and bladder cancer. He also specializes in the treatment of complex kidney stones and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) using Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate.

Dr. Alvaro Juarez is a specialist in urology by University Hospital of Puerto Real, Cádiz (1994-1998)

In 2003 he was appointed Head of Urology Service at the San Juan de Dios Hospital of Aljarafe (Aljarafe Public Health Consortium), with the mission of organizing and directing the opening of a new Urology Service.

In 2006, once the Aljarafe project was consolidated, he assumed a new responsibility: Head of Service at the University Hospital of Jerez, where he implemented an innovative Clinical Management Model with which the Urology Service achieved recognition by accrediting at an optimal quality level by the Andalusian Health Quality Agency.

Recently, the project to integrate the Urology Services of the University Hospital of Jerez with the University Hospital of Punta de Europa, in Algeciras, into an Inter-center Unit has begun.

In 2022, together with Dr. Fernando Gómez Sancha, he launched the ICUA Andalucía project, with the aim of extending the best available knowledge and the most advanced technology in the diagnosis and treatment of urological diseases to the entire population, not just users of public health services.

Current specialization

Currently, he has focused on the medical treatment of prostate cancer, on minimally invasive surgery of urological cancers using a laparoscopic approach, on the minimally invasive resolution of complex and very complex lithiasis, and on the resolution of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia using the Holmium Laser Anatomical Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) technique.

Academic activities and membership in organizations

He maintains close ties with the Andalusian Association of Urology and the Spanish Association of Urology, holding the positions of Secretary General and Vice President of the AAU and also National Coordinator of the AEU's Urologic Oncology Group. He has also served on the board of directors of the Andalusian Association for Healthcare Quality (SADECA).

He has taught in several master's programs at the University of Salamanca and the University-Business Foundation, in the Master's program in Health Economics and Management of Healthcare Organizations at the Andalusian School of Public Health, and in the Master's program in Urological Surgery Updates at CEU Cardenal Herrera University. His teaching has focused on clinical management, prostate cancer, and the treatment of highly complex kidney stones using minimally invasive endourological surgery.

Scientific activity

From a scientific perspective, his focus has been on clinical research, being Principal Investigator in more than 20 international clinical trials, most of them evaluating the efficacy and safety of new treatments in prostate, kidney and bladder cancer.

As a result of his research activity, he has co-authored scientific articles published in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and The Journal of Oncology.

Another of their lines of research has been the development of new laparoscopic surgical techniques not previously described, and the modification of existing ones. The results of this research have been published in national and international scientific journals.

Diseases it treats

Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

Growth of a benign tumor in the prostate gland as a result of aging. It produces urinary symptoms such as difficulty starting urination, weak stream, frequency, urgency, needing to get up to urinate at night, or incontinence.

Prostate Cancer

It is the most common cancer in men, and it is curable if detected early. It is important to see a urologist annually starting at age 50 for early detection, and at age 40 if there is a family history.

Kidney Stones

The crystallization of waste products in urine can produce kidney stones. These stones can vary in composition and their elimination may occur naturally or require surgical treatment.

Bladder Cancer

Very common in patients who smoke or who smoked in their youth, it usually presents with blood in the urine and irritative urinary symptoms. 80% of cases are curable.

Techniques in which he specializes

Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP)

Intervention that allows the removal of benign prostatic hyperplasia with laser by vaporizing the hyperplastic tissue or by allowing the enucleation of all the tissue and subsequently extracting it in small fragments.

Flowmetry

This test measures the amount of urine the patient's bladder is able to urinate per second, the duration of urination, and any possible interruptions during urination.

Laparoscopic surgery

Laparoscopy is a type of minimally invasive surgery in which the patient is operated on through small incisions made in the abdominal cavity.

urological ultrasound

It allows visualization of the body's interior without the use of radiation, thanks to the use of ultrasound. It can be used to view the kidneys, adrenal glands, parts of the ureters, bladder, prostate, testicles, urethra, and penis.

4K Cystoscopy

It is a diagnostic procedure that allows visualization of the urethra and bladder using a high-resolution cystoscope (a thin tube connected to a camera). It allows the urologist to identify suspicious lesions.

Ureteral catheter or stent

It is a tubular catheter, which is inserted into the ureter, connecting the bladder and kidney, to allow urine to flow down to the bladder.

Ureteral stone surgery

Today, painful kidney stones can be treated with a simple procedure. A very thin instrument is inserted through the urethra, allowing the stones to be pulverized with a laser.

Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS)

A minimally invasive endoscopic procedure that allows a very narrow and flexible instrument, which carries a camera, to be inserted through the urethra and up to the kidney, allowing kidney stones to be pulverized and extracted.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy

Minimally invasive treatment of large kidney stones, through a puncture a camera and a laser are introduced into the kidney to pulverize the urinary stones.

Laparoscopic and robotic pyeloplasty

Laparoscopic or robotic pyeloplasty is a minimally invasive surgical procedure performed to treat strictures at the junction between the renal pelvis and the ureter. The procedure reconstructs this junction to allow urine to flow…

Urethral reconstruction, urethroplasty

A surgical procedure to permanently repair a urethral stricture (narrowing of the urethral canal). Thanks to technological advancements, it now has a high long-term success rate.