Testicular cancer: Management challenges in an African developing country

Background. Advances in oncology have greatly improved the prognosis of testicular cancer. In developing countries, however, the outcome is still poor. Patients and methods. Twenty-four patients managed for testicular cancer at two centres (University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria, and JAMA Urological Clinic, Enugu) between April 1984 and March 2003 were prospectively studied. Histopathological data were obtained in all cases. Results. Peak age incidence was 20 - 29 years. Testicular swelling was the principal complaint in 23 patients. The mean interval between onset of symptoms and presentation was 5.3 months. Two patients (8.3%) presented with stage 1 disease, 7 (29.2%) with stage 2, 7 (29.2%) with stage 3, and 8 (33.3%) with stage 4. Seventy-five per cent of tumours were right-sided, and 25% were left-sided. Treatment consisted of radical orchidectomy in all patients and cisplatin-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy in some patients. One patient with a tumour in an intra-abdominal testis underwent laparotomy. The most common histological types were seminoma and embryonal carcinoma. A fifth of the patients died, while half were lost to follow-up. The mean follow-up period was 9 months. Conclusion. Morbidity and mortality of testicular cancer is high in developing countries. Late presentation, poverty, paucity of resources and the high cost of newer imaging modalities and treatment are major challenges to management. Better health funding and education regarding testicular self-examination is essential

Transvesical prostatectomy in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia in a developing country

Context: The surgical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is evolving away from open surgery. In developing countries however majority of cases are managed by transvesical prostatectomy (TP).Aims: This study aims to describe our experience regarding the efficacy, complication profile and outcome of TP in the management of BPH in Nigeria.Settings and Design: A descriptive, retrospective study carried out in three tertiary centers.Subjects and Methods: Two hundred and ninety‑seven patients were studied. Parameters examined included age, clinical features, investigations, type of postoperative bladder irrigation, prostate gland volume, duration of hospital stay, complications and outcome.Statistical Analysis Used: Simple means and percentages with SPSS 16.Results: Mean age was 65.2 ± 6.8 years (range 47‑93 years). Presentation with severe lower urinary tract symptoms only occurred in 76 patients (25.7%); acute urinary retention was seen in 106 patients (35.7%). Chronic urinary retention, impaired renal function and haematuria occurred in 47 (15.8%), 37 (12.5%), and 31 patients (10.4%) respectively. On comorbidity, 63 patients (21.2%) were hypertensive and 24 patients (8.1%) had diabetes mellitus. Two hundred and twenty three patients (75%) had indwelling catheters at the time of surgery. Preoperative urinary catheter duration was 1 week‑35 months. Mean duration of hospital stay was 8.8 days. Complications were transient urinary incontinence 33 patients (11.1%), urinary tract infection 38 patients (12.7%), and acute epididymoorchitis 15 patients (5.1%). Clot retention occurred in 40 patients (13.5%). Mortality rate was 1%.Conclusions: TP remains useful in developing climes. There is a need to emphasize effective preoperative workup so as to limit morbidity. Emphasis on variety of techniques for hemostasis is necessary.Key words: Benign prostatic hyperplasia, management, Nigeria, transvesical prostatectom

Paratesticular myxoid liposarcoma in a 23-year old Nigerian

Paratesticular liposarcomas are rare tumors and are usually seen in patients in middle age or older. Optimal treatment is radical orchidectomy. Radiotherapy or chemotherapy is added for advanced disease or recurrences. These practice guidelines often vary from the experience in developing countries

Acute and intermittent testicular torsion: Analysis of presentation, management, and outcome in South East, Nigeria

Background: Testicular torsion compromises the blood supply to the testes and may result in testicular loss or damage if not dealt with promptly. It can occur either as acute testicular torsion (ATT) or intermittent testicular torsion (ITT). This study examines the presentation, management, and outcome of adult testicular torsion.Patients and Methods: During the period January 1999 and December 2009, 34 out of 59 patients treated for testicular torsion, who had complete records, were evaluated. Operating theater and urology ward admission registers were used to identify patients.Results: Age range was 16–50 years. Of the 34 patients, 11 (32.4%) were between 26 and 30 years old, while 16 (47.1%) were between 16 and 25 years old. Mean age was 27 years. Scrotal pain of varying severity was noted in all patients; there was associated vomiting in 21% of cases and abdominal pain in 38% of cases. Clinical diagnosis was ATT in 12 (35.3%) patients and ITT in 22 (64.7%) patients. In the ATT group, only one patient (8.3%) presented within 6 h of onset of symptoms. In the ITT group, 3 patients (13.6%) presented within 1 month of onset of symptoms while 7 (31.8%) of patients presented between 1 and 6 months after the onset of symptoms. Testicular salvage rate was 58.3% for ATT. Surgical intervention occurred within 3 h in the ATT group in 7 patients (58.3%) and in 5 patients (41.7%) within 3–6 h of onset of symptoms. In the patients with ITT, 12 patients (54.5%) were operated upon within 1 month of presentation. Preoperative external manual detorsion was performed in 1 patient.Conclusion: Late presentation was observed, especially in the intermittent variety. Delay occurred both at pre- and intra-hospital phases. Testicular salvage rate may be improved by physician/health worker and community enlightenment. Adoption of local anesthetic may reduce intrahospital delay.Keywords: Acute, intermittent, management, Nigeria, orchidectomy, testicular loss, testicular torsio

Predicting Gleason score using the initial serum total prostate-specific antigen in Black men with symptomatic prostate adenocarcinoma in Nigeria

Ikenna I Nnabugwu, Emeka I Udeh, Fredrick O Ugwumba, Francis O Ozoemena Urology Unit, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Enugu Campus, University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria Background: Men of Black African descent are known to have the highest incidence of prostate cancer. The disease is also more aggressive in this group possibly due to biologically more aggressive tumor or late presentation. Currently, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay plays a significant role in making the diagnosis of prostate cancer. However, the obtained value of serum PSA may not directly relate with the Gleason score (GS), a measure of tumor aggression in prostate cancer. This study explores the relationship between serum total PSA at presentation (iPSA) and GS.Patients and methods: The iPSA of patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer was compared with the obtained GS of the prostate biopsy specimens. The age of the patients at presentation and the prostate volumes were also analyzed with respect to the iPSA and GS. The data were analyzed retrospectively using IBM SPSS Version 20. Pearson correlation was used for numeric variables, whereas Fisher’s exact test was used for categorical variables. Significance was set at P≤0.05.Results: There were 205 patients from January 2010 to November 2013 who satisfied the inclusion criteria. iPSA as well as age at presentation and prostate volume were not found to significantly correlate with the primary Gleason grade, the secondary Gleason grade, or the GS. However, the presence of distant metastasis was identified to significantly correlate positively with GS.Conclusion: GS may not be confidently predicted by the iPSA. Higher iPSA does not correlate with higher GS and vice versa. Keywords: PSA, patient age, prostate volume, prostate adenocarcinoma, Gleason scor

Learning Transurethral Resection of the Prostate: A Comparison of the Weight of Resected Specimen to the Weight of Enucleated Specimen in Open Prostatectomy

Background: Minimally invasive procedures in the surgical management of benign prostate enlargement (BPE) are of limited use in the resource‑poor settings due to nonavailability of the requisite facilities and skills. It has been observed that teaching uroendoscopy inclusive of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) can be challenging in the resource‑poor settings where the traditional master‑apprentice (Halstedian) approach has remained the prevalent training technique. Patients and Methods: We aimed in this retrospective study to assess completeness of resection in TURP by comparing the proportion of prostate tissue resected to the proportion enucleated in open retropubic prostatectomy (ORP). We included all BPE patients on urethral catheter managed in the first 18 months after Halstedian training in TURP. The analysis was done using SPSS® 20 and VassarStats® online software. Results: Twenty patients’ files for TURP and twenty‑eight patients’ files for ORP met the inclusion criteria. Patients in the 2 treatment arms were similar in age (P = 0.22), body mass index (P = 0.45), proportion of prostate tissue extirpated (P = 0.38), and International Prostate Symptom Score 12‑month postprocedure (P = 0.06). However, larger prostates were treated with ORP (P < 0.0005). The correlation of the weight of resected specimen to preoperative prostate volume (PV) (r = 0.78; P < 0.001) was similar to that of enucleated specimen to preoperative PV (r = 0.89; P < 0.001). Similarly, the proportion of extirpated specimen correlated positively with the preoperative PVs for both TURP (r = 0.23; P = 0.33) and ORP (r = 0.292; P = 0.13), with no evidence of any difference between the 2 correlation values (P = 0.84). Conclusion: With appropriate patient selection, especially as a newly trained Surgeon, resections in TURP are as complete as enucleations in ORP.Keywords: Correlation, enucleated weight, Halstedian approach, learning trans‑urethral resection of the prostate, resected weight, retropubic prostatectom

Reducing the burden of regular indwelling urinary catheter changes in the catheter clinics: the opinion of patients and relatives on the practice of self-catheterization

Ikenna I Nnabugwu, Emeka I Udeh, Oghenekaro A Enivwenae, Fred O Ugwumba, Oyiogu F Ozoemena Urology Unit, Department of Surgery, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria Background: Clean intermittent self-catheterization is accepted worldwide as a standard of care for patients with long-standing need for urinary bladder decompression. Evidence of its routine practice in our low-resource setting is lacking, leading to increasing number of patients with a long-standing indwelling urinary catheter.Objective: To seek the opinion of patients already using indwelling catheters regarding the practice of self-catheterization.Patients and methods: Over a 4-month period, the opinion of every patient and patient’s relative that attended the regular urinary catheter clinic was sought using an intern-administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results: A total of 108 patients completed the questionnaire. Age range was 16–100 years with a mean of 62.2±15.5 years. Only 30.5% of the patients had formal education beyond the primary level. The median cost for change of the indwelling catheter was 1,325 naira (8.28 US) with a range of 500–4,000 naira (3.13–$25 USD). Analysis showed that: 70.8% of patients aged under 60 years/60.6% of those with formal education beyond primary level/61.9% of those wearing catheters for <3 months would give consent for training in self-catheterization. Higher cost of catheter change did not influence the decision to consider self-catheterization. Of the 59 patient relatives who completed the questionnaire, 63% of those younger than 50 years old and 69.2% of those with tertiary education would be willing to undertake training to administer self-catheterization.Conclusion: A select group of patients and accompanying relatives in our low-resource setting are willing to learn and practice self-catheterization. Keywords: self-catheterization, patients’ opinion, indwelling cathete

Serum total prostate-specific antigen values in men with symptomatic prostate enlargement in Nigeria: role in clinical decision-making

Ikenna I Nnabugwu,1,2 Fred O Ugwumba,1 Oghenekaro A Enivwenae,2 Emeka I Udeh,1 Chris O Otene,2 Chinwe A Nnabugwu3 1Urology Unit, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 2Urology Unit, Department of Surgery, 3Department of Medical Laboratory Services, Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Nigeria Background: Prostatic enlargement is a common cause of bladder outlet obstruction in men in Nigeria. Malignant enlargements must be differentiated from benign enlargements for adequate treatment of each patient. High serum total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) levels suggest malignancy, but some of the biopsies done due to a serum tPSA value >4 ng/mL would be negative for malignancy because of the low specificity of tPSA for prostate cancer. This study aims to compare the histologic findings of all prostate specimens obtained from core needle biopsy, open simple prostatectomy, and transurethral resection of the prostate with the respective serum tPSA values in an attempt to decipher the role of serum tPSA in the management of these patients.Methods: The case notes of patients attended to from April 2009 to March 2012 were analyzed. Essentially, the age of the patient, findings on digital rectal examination, abdominopelvic ultrasonography report on the prostate, serum tPSA, and histology reports from biopsy or prostatectomy specimens as indicated were extracted for analysis.Results: The relationship between age, findings on digital rectal examination, serum tPSA, abdominopelvic ultrasonography report, and histology are compared. A statistically significant relationship existed between a malignant histology and age 65 years and older, suspicious findings on digital rectal examination, suspicious ultrasonography findings, and serum tPSA >10 ng/mL, but not tPSA >4 ng/mL.Conclusion: In Nigerian patients with symptomatic prostate enlargement, serum tPSA should be seen as a continuum with increasing risk of prostate malignancy. Keywords: serum total prostate-specific antigen, symptomatic prostate enlargement, prostate histolog

Ischemic priapism in South‑East Nigeria: Presentation, management challenges, and aftermath issues

Context: Ischemic priapism is the more common variety of priapism and often presents late. Outcome is largely dependent on the duration of ischemia.Aims: To determine the etiology, presentation, management, and outcome of ischemic priapism.Settings and Design: Retrospective analysis of consecutive cases presenting to three hospitals offering specialist urological services in South‑East Nigeria from January 2000 to December 2010.Patients and Methods: Fifteen patients were assessed for clinical data and outcome.Statistical Analysis Used: The data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 16, SPSS Inc., Chicago IL, USA) with P < 0.05.Results: Mean age was 30.5 years (standard deviation [SD] =1.63), range: 14–79 years. Onset to presentation interval ranged from 6 h to 28 days. Eight patients (53.3%) had sickle cell disease (SCD). Four patients (26.7%) had unidentified causes. The 8 SCD patients had stuttering priapism on several occasions previously. Six patients (40%) had taken oral herbal medications as treatment prior to presentation. Initial resuscitative measures were intravenous hydration, aspiration, and irrigation with normal saline in 13 patients. Glanulo‑cavernous shunt (Al‑Ghorab) was performed in all the patients. Detumescence was immediate in 14 and delayed in 1 patient. Three patients had transient recurrence of tumescence, while one had to be reshunted. Erectile dysfunction (ED) occurred in 7 patients (46.7%). Occurrence of ED increased significantly in patients presenting 24 h after onset of symptoms ([P = 0.032] Fishers exact test). Mean duration of follow‑up was 21.9 weeks (SD = 4.1), range: 3–156 weeks.Conclusions: Low flow priapism is common in our environment, and approximately half will occur in SCD patients who have had stuttering priapism previously. Timely diagnosis and treatment will reduce the probability of severe ED. In our experience, the Al‑Ghorab shunt provides rapid relief. Enlightenment is vital in reducing ischemia time. Emphasis on preventive measures in SCD patients is vital.Key words: Ischemic priapism, low flow, nonischemic priapism, stuttering priapis