Faculty Bibliography

Variable effects on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) other than stress urinary incontinence (SUI) have been reported after tension-free vaginal tape (TVT). We measured the effect of TVT on LUTS using the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUASI). Patients undergoing TVT completed the AUASI pre- and post-operatively. Total scores (TS), storage scores (SS), and voiding scores (VS) were compared overall and among patients with SUI vs mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) and those who underwent TVT vs TVT-obturator (TVT-O). The mean change in TS and SS was -3.6 and -3.0. Mean reductions in TS and SS were significant in all patient subsets with no change in VS. There was no significant difference in the mean changes in TS between patients with SUI vs MUI or those undergoing TVT vs TVT-O. LUTS are improved after TVT in most patients. In general, voiding symptoms were not adversely affected

OBJECTIVE: To compare the surgical outcomes of elderly patients with renal masses treated with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) or laparoscopic cryoablation (LCA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: All 15 patients who had LCA at the authors' institution between May 2003 and July 2005 were included, and compared with a matched cohort of 15 patients selected by patient age and tumour size, from a pre-existing database of 104 patients who had LPN from July 2002 to July 2005. The two groups were compared for gender, number of comorbidities, American Society of Anesthesiologists status (ASA), body mass index (BMI), baseline renal function and haematocrit, location and size of lesion, length of stay, operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), transfusion rate, number and type of complications, conversion rate, and postoperative renal function and haematocrit. RESULTS: The two groups were similar in age, sex, BMI, ASA, baseline renal function, haematocrit, size and side of tumour, the percentage of exophytic tumours, and the likelihood of more than one comorbidity. Surgical outcomes between the groups were also relatively similar. The length of stay, creatinine and haematocrit levels after surgery did not differ between the groups. The LPN group had a significantly longer operation (248 vs 152 min, P < 0.001) and higher EBL (222 vs 59 mL, P = 0.007) than the LCA group, but only one patient required a transfusion and there was no discernible difference in discharge haematocrit values. No recurrences were detected in either group, with a similar mean follow-up of 9.8 and 11.9 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: Although this matched-cohort comparison showed that LPN had a higher mean EBL, a longer operation and higher relative risk of open conversion, the overall clinical outcome was similar in terms of complication rates, length of stay and changes in creatinine and haematocrit after surgery. In this small retrospective evaluation, there was similar morbidity, treatment outcome and short-term efficacy with LCA and LPN. At present, although still experimental, LCA is a good choice for elderly patients with comorbidities precluding blood loss or renal ischaemia. However, in experienced hands, LPN is a preferred option for most elderly patients and should be considered when contemplating definitive treatment of renal masses

Spontaneous renal artery dissection (SRAD) is a rare event, and thus may be a challenge for physicians to diagnose and treat. We report a case of SRAD in a healthy 56-year-old male who presented with flank pain, fever, and elevated white blood cell count. The patient was initially diagnosed with nephrolithiasis versus pyelonephritis and was admitted for observation. Multiple imaging modalities, including non-contrast computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with gadolinium, CT angiogram, and intraoperative angiogram, were used to make the final diagnosis of SRAD. The patient was treated with endovascular stent placement and is currently free of pain with normal laboratory values and blood pressure

Tolterodine was developed as an antimuscarinic agent specifically for the treatment of overactive bladder. Initial in vivo studies demonstrated a functional selectivity for the muscarinic receptors in the urinary bladder over the salivary glands, and subsequent clinical trials showed an overall superior tolerability profile compared with other drugs in the same class (ie, oxybutynin). With immediate- and extended-release formulations and sustained clinical efficacy during long-term treatment, tolterodine gas become an important treatment option for the symptoms of overactive bladder

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the discrepancy in the radiologic and pathologic size of renal cell carcinoma influences the final cancer stage. METHODS: Renal masses resected from December 1999 to September 2004 were identified using a pathologic database and compared by surgical accession number to an existing clinical renal tumor database to identify those T1 and T2 tumors for which radiologic and pathologic data were available. The tumor histologic features, maximal pathologic diameter, and maximal radiologic diameter were recorded. The percentage of tumor size reduction was then calculated using these data. RESULTS: Of the 236 renal cancers evaluated, 52% had regressed in size when comparing the pathologic and radiologic sizes. When stratified by histologic subtype, clear cell tumors regressed more often and to a greater degree than those that were chromophobe or papillary. Also, 15 organ-confined tumors were downstaged when comparing the maximal radiologic diameter and the maximal pathologic diameter, and 13 of these were clear cell tumors. CONCLUSIONS: A reduction in kidney tumor size is commonly observed at surgical resection because of a loss of blood flow to the tumor. This tumor size reduction has an impact on the final pathologic stage in organ-confined tumors for which size is the only criterion. The greatest tumor size reduction, and most frequent downstaging, was observed for conventional (clear cell) tumors. We believe this may explain, in part, the worse stage-stratified outcomes for clear cell tumors compared with other tumor types. We propose that renal cancer staging should be determined from accurate measurement of the radiologic size, rather than the pathologic size