Out of Step, Out of Office: Electoral Accountability and House Members’ Voting

Does a typical House member need to worry about the electoral ramifications of his roll-call decisions? We investigate the relationship between incumbents’ electoral performance and roll-call support for their party—controlling for district ideology, challenger quality, and campaign spending, among other factors—through a series of tests of the 1956–1996 elections. The tests produce three key findings indicating that members are indeed accountable for their legislative voting. First, in each election, an incumbent receives a lower vote share the more he supports his party. Second, this effect is comparable in size to that of other widely recognized electoral determinants. Third, a member’s probability of retaining office decreases as he offers increased support for his party, and this relationship holds for not only marginal, but also safe members

Laparoscopic Partial Cystectomy for Urachal and Bladder Cancer

PURPOSE: To report our initial experiences with laparoscopic partial cystectomy for urachal and bladder malignancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 2002 and October 2004, laparoscopic partial cystectomy was performed in 6 cases at 3 institutions; 3 cases were urachal adenocarcinomas and the remaining 3 cases were bladder transitional cell carcinomas. All patients were male, with a median age of 55 years (45-72 years). Gross hematuria was the presenting symptom in all patients, and diagnosis was established with trans-urethral resection bladder tumor in 2 patients and by means of cystoscopic biopsy in the remaining 4 patients. Laparoscopic partial cystectomy was performed using the transperitoneal approach under cystoscopic guidance. In each case, the surgical specimen was removed intact entrapped in an impermeable bag. One patient with para-ureteral diverticulum transitional cell carcinoma required concomitant ureteral reimplantation. RESULTS: All six procedures were completed laparoscopically without open conversion. The median operating time was 110 minutes (90-220) with a median estimated blood loss of 70 mL (50-100). Frozen section evaluations of bladder margins were routinely obtained and were negative for cancer in all cases. The median hospital stay was 2.5 days (2-4) and the duration of catheterization was 7 days. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. Final histopathology confirmed urachal adenocarcinoma in 3 cases and bladder transitional cell carcinoma in 3 cases. At a median follow-up of 28.5 months (range: 26 to 44 months), there was no evidence of recurrent disease as evidenced by radiologic or cystoscopic evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic partial cystectomy in carefully selected patients with urachal and bladder cancer is feasible and safe, offering a promising and minimally invasive alternative for these patients

Unidirectional barbed suture versus standard monofilament for urethrovesical anastomosis during robotic assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

PURPOSE: V-LocTM180 (Covidien Healthcare, Mansfield, MA) is a new unidirectional barbed suture that may reduce loss of tension during a running closure. We evaluated the use of the barbed suture for urethrovesical anastomosis (UVA) during robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). Time to completion of UVA, post-operative anastomotic leak rate, and urinary incontinence were compared in patients undergoing UVA with 3-0 unidirectional-barbed suture vs. 3-0 MonocrylTM (Ethicon, Somerville, NJ). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were prospectively collected for 70 consecutive patients undergoing RALP for prostate cancer between November 2009 and October 2010. In the first 35 patients, the UVA was performed using a modified running van Velthoven anastomosis technique using two separate 3-0 monofilament sutures. In the subsequent 35 patients, the UVA was performed using two running novel unidirectional barbed sutures. At 7-12 days postoperatively, all patients were evaluated with a cystogram to determine anastomotic integrity. Urinary incontinence was assessed at two months and five months by total daily pad usage. Clinical symptoms suggestive of bladder neck contracture were elicited. RESULTS: Age, PSA, Gleason score, prostate size, estimated blood loss, body mass index, and clinical and pathologic stage between the 2 groups were similar. Comparing the monofilament group and V-LocTM180 cohorts, average time to complete the anastomosis was similar (27.4 vs. 26.4 minutes, p = 0.73) as was the rate of urinary extravasation on cystogram (5.7 % vs. 8.6%, p = 0.65). There were no symptomatic bladder neck contractures noted at 5 months of follow-up. At 2 months, the percentage of patients using 2 or more pads per day was lower in the V-LocTM180 cohort (24% vs. 44%, p < 0.02). At 5 months, this difference was no longer evident. CONCLUSIONS: Time to complete the UVA was similar in the intervention and control groups. Rates of urine leak were also comparable. While the V-LocTM180 was associated with improved early continence, this difference was transient