Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in Horseshoe Kidney: Our First Experience

Objective To share our experience in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) procedures in patients with horseshoe kidney. Materials and Methods The data of 7 patients undergoing PCNL were analyzed retrospectively. Preoperative clinical and laboratory data of patients (including complete urinalysis, complete blood count, serum biochemistry, and coagulation tests) were recorded. The stone surface area (mm2) was calculated by graph paper tracing of two dimensional projection of the stone on a plain film of the kidneys, ureters and bladder (KUB) in the anteroposterior view by investigators. In addition, per-operative and post-operative findings were evaluated. Success and complication rates (according to the classification of Clavien) were also determined. Results The mean stone surface area was 1234 (range 250-2460 mm2) mm2. Six patients were treated through a single tract, and one patient required additional access. Access was directed to the middle calyx (n=2), superior calyx (n=4), middle and inferior calyx (n=1) through the supracostal (n=2) and subcostal (n=5) areas. Mean operative time was 131 (range 70-215 minutes) minutes. Stone-free rate after single session PCNL was 71% (n=5) and increased to 86% (n=6) with a post-operative secondary ureterorenoscopy procedure. Complications including bleeding necessitating blood transfusion (Clavien grade 2) and prolonged drainage (Clavien degree 3a) were occurred in only 2 patients (24%). Conclusion PCNL is a safe and successful procedure in patients with horseshoe kidney and comparable with PNL procedures in patients with normal renal anatom

Focal therapy for localized prostate cancer: is there a “middle ground” between active surveillance and definitive treatment?

In recent years, it has come a long way in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of prostate cancer. Beside this, it was argued that definitive treatments could cause overtreatment, particularly in the very low, low, and favorable risk group. When alternative treatment and follow-up methods are being considered for this group of patients, active surveillance is seen as a good alternative for patients with very low and low-risk groups in this era. However, it has become necessary to find other alternatives for patients in the favorable risk group or patients who cannot adopt active follow-up. In the light of technological developments, the concept of focal therapy was introduced with the intensification of research to treat only the lesioned area instead of treating the entire organ for prostate lesions though there are not many publications about many of them yet. According to the initial results, it was understood that the results could be good if the appropriate focal therapy technique was applied to the appropriate patient. Thus, focal therapies have begun to find their “middle ground” place between definitive therapies and active follow-up

Second primary cancers in patients with urothelial cancers

Purpose: To investigate the second primary cancers (SPCs) in patients with urothelial cancer (UC). Materials and Methods: The records of 2,339 patients whose UC was diagnosed between January 1974 and December 2012 were reviewed. All data about characteristics of patients, of UC and, of SPC was, recorded digitally. We investigated the prevalence and the type of second or higher order cancers, and the factors associated with SPC. Results: Total 260 patients (11.1%) had SPC, 14 had a third primary cancer and one had a fourth primary cancer. The most common SPC with UC was lung cancer (29.6%). Of all 260 with SPC, 64 (24.6%) had synchronous (within the 6 months) SPC, 120 (46.2%) had subsequent SPC and, 76 (29.2%) had antecedent SPC. The mean duration of SPC was 56 months in patients with subsequent SPC and 75.8 months in patients with antecedent SPC. The mean age at the time of diagnosis of UC was higher in patients with SPC. The ratio of male gender, body mass index, blood type, status of smoking and, occupational risk was similar in both groups. Total amount of smoking and the mean follow-up were higher in patients with SPC. Conclusions: The majority of the patients with UC have long life expectancy. In patients with UC, the risk of having another cancer is quite higher than normal population. The physicians managing patients with UC should look for SPC

Prospective comparison of ligation and bipolar cautery technique in non-scalpel vasectomy

Objectives: There is no trial comparing bipolar cautery and ligation for occlusion of vas in non-scalpel vasectomy. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of these vasectomy occlusion techniques. Materials and Methods: Between January 2002-June 2009, patients were allocated in alternate order. We recruited 100 cases in cautery group and 100 cases in ligation group. Non-scalpel approach was performed during vasectomy and fascial interposition was performed in all cases. First semen analysis was done 3 months after vasectomy. Vasectomy success was defined as azoospermia or non-motile sperm lower than 100.000/mL. Results: Four patients from the cautery group were switched to the ligation group due to technical problem of cautery device. Thus, data of 96 patients as cautery group and 104 patients as ligation group were evaluated. After vasectomy, semen analyses were obtained from 59 of 96 (61.5%) patients in cautery group and to 66 of 104 (63.5%) patients in ligation group. There was no statistical significant difference between the two groups in terms of the success of vasectomy (p=0.863). Conclusion: Although bipolar cautery technique is safe, effective and feasible in non-scalpel vasectomy, it has no superiority to ligation. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of the success and complications between the two groups

Radical perineal prostatectomy: Our initial experience

OBJECTIVE: Radical prostatectomy is the standard treatment modality for localized prostate cancer. Minimally invasive surgery, especially robotic surgery, has attracted interest in the last 10 years, and open surgery has been less preferred. Among the open surgical procedures, the perineal approach is the least preferred by urologists, which may be related to their perception of its overall difficulty. In this study, we aimed to present our initial experience with learning and performing radical perineal prostatectomy (RPP) and to draw attention to this method. MATERIAL AND METHODS: After a short training period between November 2011 and May 2013, RPP was performed on 9 patients with localized prostate cancer. The patients were evaluated as for medical, and perioperative and major postoperative complications. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 60.4±5.3 (50–68) years, the mean preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value was 5.8±1.3 (4.0–7.6) ng/mL and the mean prostate volume was 38.8±7.7 (28–54) cc. The biopsy Gleason score ranged from 5 to 7. The median follow-up period was 14 (3–30) months. Anastomotic stricture did not occur in any of the patients. Of the 9 patients, 4 (44%) were immediately continent after catheter removal, while the remaining patients were continent at the end of three months. Of the 7 patients who underwent nerve-sparing surgery, 2 had postoperative spontaneous erections. Erectile function was maintained with phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5) inhibitor treatment in 3, and with intracavernosal injection in 1 patient. Penile prosthesis implantation was performed in 1 patient. CONCLUSION: RPP has been a promising procedure at the start with its favorable oncologic and functional outcomes. This method should be considered by urologists, although it has been previously perceived as a challenging surgical procedure to perform

Radical perineal prostatectomy: Our initial experience

OBJECTIVE: Radical prostatectomy is the standard treatment modality for localized prostate cancer. Minimally invasive surgery, especially robotic surgery, has attracted interest in the last 10 years, and open surgery has been less preferred. Among the open surgical procedures, the perineal approach is the least preferred by urologists, which may be related to their perception of its overall difficulty. In this study, we aimed to present our initial experience with learning and performing radical perineal prostatectomy (RPP) and to draw attention to this method. MATERIAL AND METHODS: After a short training period between November 2011 and May 2013, RPP was performed on 9 patients with localized prostate cancer. The patients were evaluated as for medical, and perioperative and major postoperative complications. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 60.4±5.3 (50–68) years, the mean preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value was 5.8±1.3 (4.0–7.6) ng/mL and the mean prostate volume was 38.8±7.7 (28–54) cc. The biopsy Gleason score ranged from 5 to 7. The median follow-up period was 14 (3–30) months. Anastomotic stricture did not occur in any of the patients. Of the 9 patients, 4 (44%) were immediately continent after catheter removal, while the remaining patients were continent at the end of three months. Of the 7 patients who underwent nerve-sparing surgery, 2 had postoperative spontaneous erections. Erectile function was maintained with phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5) inhibitor treatment in 3, and with intracavernosal injection in 1 patient. Penile prosthesis implantation was performed in 1 patient. CONCLUSION: RPP has been a promising procedure at the start with its favorable oncologic and functional outcomes. This method should be considered by urologists, although it has been previously perceived as a challenging surgical procedure to perform

The efficacy of duration of prophylactic antibiotics in transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy

ABSTRACT Introduction: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the duration of prophylactic antibiotic administration in patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsy. Material and Methods: A total of 367 patients undergoing a prostate biopsy between September 2007 and June 2009 was reviewed retrospectively and divided into 2 groups according to prophilaxy: oral ciprofloxacin (750 mg every 12 hours) for 3 or more days in Group-1 and single day in Group-2. Demographic characteristics of patients, symptoms, PSA values, IPSS scores, prostate sizes, pathologic results and complications were compared between the groups. Results: The mean age of all patients was 63.92 years and the mean PSA was 13.61ng/ dL. The pre-biopsy mean IPSS score was 12.47 and mean prostate volume 52.53 mL. For 78.2% of patients the current biopsy was their first biopsy. Cancer detection rate was 24.2%. Fever was observed in 3 (1.2%) patients in Group-1 and 5 (4.0%) patients in Group-2. Local infections occurred in 2 (0.8%) and 1 (0.8%) patients respectively in Groups 1 and 2. Acute prostatitis was observed in only 1 (0.8%) patient in Group-2. Accepted after revision: None of the patients developed septicemia or other serious infection. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of fever, local infections (epididimitis, orchitis, etc.) and acute prostatitis. Conclusions: In a selected patient population single dose prophylaxis with ciprofloxacin can be safely administered compared to other regimens of 3 or more days. Increasing the duration of antibiotic prophylaxis does not decrease infectious complications

Chromosomal aberrations in benign prostatic hyperplasia patients

Purpose: To investigate the chromosomal changes in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Materials and Methods: A total of 54 patients diagnosed with clinical BPH underwent transurethral prostate resection to address their primary urological problem. All patients were evaluated by use of a comprehensive medical history and rectal digital examination. The preoperative evaluation also included serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurement and ultrasonographic measurement of prostate volume. Prostate cancer was detected in one patient, who was then excluded from the study. We performed conventional cytogenetic analyses of short-term cultures of 53 peripheral blood samples obtained from the BPH patients. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) age of the 53 patients was 67.8±9.4 years. The mean PSA value of the patients was 5.8±7.0 ng/mL. The mean prostate volume was 53.6±22.9 mL. Chromosomal abnormalities were noted in 5 of the 53 cases (9.4%). Loss of the Y chromosome was the most frequent chromosomal abnormality and was observed in three patients (5.7%). There was no statistically significant relationship among age, PSA, prostate volume, and chromosomal changes. Conclusions: Loss of the Y chromosome was the main chromosomal abnormality found in our study. However, this coexistence did not reach a significant level. Our study concluded that loss of the Y chromosome cannot be considered relevant for the diagnosis of BPH as it is for prostate cancer. Because BPH usually occurs in aging men, loss of the Y chromosome in BPH patients may instead be related to the aging process