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INTRODUCTION@#To evaluate the sperm retrieval rate and factors influencing its success among patients who undergo conventional or microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (TESE) for non-obstructive azoospermia.@*METHODS@#Data were from 223 consecutive patients who underwent conventional or microsurgical TESE from August 2011 to January 2021 under two urologists of the center. Data regarding age, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, estradiol, testicular size, histopathology, surgical technique, and sperm retrieval were collected. Patients with obstructive azoospermia, repeated TESE procedure, and those who underwent TESE for oncofertility were excluded. Using simple logistic regression analysis, the relationship of the different factors to successful sperm retrieval was computed as odds ratio.@*RESULTS@#The overall surgical sperm retrieval rate was found to be 65.71%. The odds ratio of successful sperm retrieval were 1.04 (95% CI 1.00-1.09) for age, 0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.97) for FSH, 0.93 (95% CI 0.87-0.99) for LH, 1.24 (95% CI 0.99-1.55) for testosterone, and 0.93 (95% CI 0.88-0.98) for estradiol. Decreased testicular size was also associated significantly with lower sperm retrieval rate (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.09-0.56). Histopathologic pattern and surgical technique were also significantly associated with successful sperm retrieval.@*CONCLUSION@#The surgical sperm retrieval rate in this institution is comparable to the global surgical sperm retrieval rate. Age, FSH, LH, estradiol, testicular size, histopathologic pattern and surgical technique were found to have significant association to successful surgical sperm retrieval.
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@#Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) of the prostate is recently becoming more and more utilized in the detection of prostate cancer. Studies have shown that a higher PIRADS score correlated to a higher chance of obtaining a clinically significant prostate cancer but few studies have correlated PIRADS score to a specific Gleason score.@*OBJECTIVE@#This study aimed to determine the concordance of PIRADS score to the Gleason score result of MRI ultrasound fusion-guided prostate biopsy.@*METHODS@#All patients who had at least a PIRADS 2 lesion on mpMRI and underwent MRI ultrasound fusion-guided biopsy of the prostate from August 2018 up to November 2019 at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Global City were included in the study. An ambispective collection of data was done until the ideal sample size of greater than 100 positive lesions was obtained, in order to derive concordance rate.@*RESULTS@#One hundred and sixty-two patients were included in the study with a total of 212 lesions analyzed. Forty three percent were benign while 57% were found to be malignant. PIRADS 2 lesions had zero high grade cancers, and the percentage steadily increased with 37.8% of PIRADS lesions considered high grade. Concordance was computed to be 0.38 showing a fair, direct concordance between PIRADS and Gleason score with significant result (p<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#A result of PIRADS 4 or 5 lesion on mpMRI will have a higher urgency of doing a prostate biopsy and subsequent management to prevent unfavorable outcomes as opposed to PIRADS 3 lesions.
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OBJECTIVE@#This study aims to evaluate the effects on biochemical recurrence (BCR) of the followingproposed prognostic factors after radical prostatectomy (RP): patients' clinical T stage, Gleason gradegroup (GG) of RP specimen, technique of operation used (open RP vs. robot-assisted laparoscopicRP), presence of positive surgical margin (PSM), length of PSM, GG at PSM, extraprostatic extension(EPE) at PSM, and presence of detectable PSA at 4-6 weeks after RP. It also aims to identify whichamong the aforementioned variables are independent predictors of risk for BCR.@*PATIENTS AND METHODS@#This is a retrospective study. Included in the study were patients who underwentRP (Open and Robot-assisted Laparoscopic technique) at two tertiary hospital branches of an academicmedical center from April 2009 to December 2015 with histopathology reports read by a singleurologic pathologist and with complete follow- up for at least one year. Excluded were those whounderwent RP but without complete follow- up. Using Pearson chi-square and z-test with level ofsignificance set at 0.05, the clinicopathologic variables including: patients clinical stage, GG of RPspecimen, length of PSM, GG at positive margins, presence of EPE at positive margins, and presenceof detectable PSA after the surgery were assessed in order to know which among these factors werepredictive of BCR. Multinomial regression analysis was also used to identify which among the variableswere independent predictors of risk for BCR.@*RESULTS@#A total of 165 patients underwent RP from April 2009 to December 2015, among which 72patients were eligible for inclusion in the final analysis. Clinical T2 stage was found to be a predictorof BCR with odds ratio of 13.000 (95%CI: 3.705 - 45.620; p < 0.001) as compared to stage T1. GGof final histopathology report of prostatectomy specimen was found to be a predictor of BCR, asthose with grade groups 4 and 5 had significantly increased risk of BCR with odds ratio of 70.778(95%CI: 8.207 - 610.426; p < 0.001) as compared to those with grade groups 1 to 3. Patients withpositive margins had increased risk of BCR, with odds ratio of 13.458 (95%CI: 13.472 - 52.171; p <0.001) compared to those with negative margins. GG at the PSM was found to be a predictor of BCR,with a grade grouping of 4 or 5 at the positive margin predicting BCR with odds ratio of 20.625(95%CI: 2.241 - 189.847; p = 0.008) as compared to grade grouping of 1 or 2 at the margin. DetectablePSA after RP was found to be a predictor of BCR, with odds ratio of 115.000 (95%CI: 19.457 -679.712; p < 0.001) as compared to undetectable PSA after RP. Technique of RP (p = 0.177), measuredlength of PSM (p = 0.713), and EPE at PSM (p = 0.146) were not found to predict BCR. Furthermore,clinical T stage (p = 0.007) and detectable PSA after RP (p < 0.001) were found to be independentpredictors of BCR among the risk factors examined.@*CONCLUSION@#Of the independent variables examined, clinical T stage, GG of RP specimen, presenceof PSM, GG at positive margins, and detectable PSA were found to be significant predictors of BCR. Technique of RP, measured length of PSM, and EPE at PSM were not found to predict BCR.Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that only clinical T stage and detectable PSA after RPwere independent predictors of BCR. Attentive assessment of these predictors in the preoperativeperiod should aid the urologist in clinical decision-making and in advising patients regarding theirprognosis.
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@#This is a case of a 74-year-old obese male presented with moderate lower urinary tract symptoms and an elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) of 48.21ng/ml. Multiparametric MRI of the prostate revealed a markedly enlarged prostate (225grams) with a PIRADS 5 lesion at the left posterior peripheral zone. Prostate biopsy done revealed prostate adenocarcinoma Gleason 7(3+4). Metastatic workup was negative for distant metastasis hence the patient was advised robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP).Several difficulties were encountered during the surgical technique. The usual posterior approach was not feasible because incising the peritoneum over the rectovesical pouch would not be able to expose the vas deferens and seminal vesicles. An anterior approach was instead done, but this was still difficult due to the lack of space for proper exposure and movement of instruments. The posterior dissection was also challenging; three successive suspension stitches were necessary in order to expose and mobilize the lateral and posterior surface of the prostate. Urethrovesical anastomosis had to be modified by performing a modified posterior repair in order to reduce tension caused by the large gap left by the excised prostate. RALP is a safe and feasible operative technique for very large prostates as long as the difficulties are foreseen and the necessary adjustments are made.Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) has emerged as the preferred option in the treatment of localized prostate cancer. As more cases are being performed, more surgeons are encountering challenging cases, such as those with difficult anatomy, prior abdominal surgery and prior radiation therapy. Large prostate glands increase the technical difficulty of performing robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy.1 Reported is a case of RALP in a patient with prostate size >200. The difficulties and concerns in such situations are also delineated.
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@#Mucinous adenocarcinoma of the bladder is rare, occurring in 0.5-2.0% of bladder cancer. Mostpatients present with hematuria, suprapubic pain and dysuria. Presented is a case of a 44 year oldmale with 4 month history of hematuria and terminal dysuria who underwent radicalcystoprostatectomy with histopathology findings of mucinous adenocarcinoma. Upon diagnosis, 25%of patients have distant metastases and 50% have stage IV disease with 50% five years survival rate forstage I-III tumor with no stage IV patients surviving beyond two years. Hence, for this type of cancer,early diagnosis is crucial. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment and is resistant with chemotherapy andradiation. Thus, for patient with confirmed or highly suspicious mucinous adenocarcinoma of thebladder, timely radical resection is warranted.
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@#Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) allows for the possibility of intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI) to achieve fertility but is an invasive procedure, and failed testicular sperm extraction hasbrought significant emotional and financial consequences to couples.@*OBJECTIVE@#This study aims to determine the relationship of pre-operative work-up variables such asage, FSH, LH, total testosterone in the success or failure of TESE in patients by 2 urologists with non-obstructive azoospermia in St. Luke's Medical Center-Global City.@*MATERIALS AND METHODS@#This is a retrospective chart review of patients presenting with infertility,diagnosed to have non-obstructive azoospermia and underwent conventional TESE from 2012 to2016 at St. Luke's Medical Center-Global City. Patients were adult males presenting with infertilityundergoing conventional TESE, known to have non-obstructive azoospermia. TESE outcomes of 46patients with complete parametric laboratory exams warranted for this study were used for statisticalanalysis.@*RESULTS@#T-test results showed no sufficient evidence to conclude that there is significant difference inmean age (p-value = 0.509), mean LH (p-value = 0.549), mean FSH (p-value = 0.81), and totaltestosterone (p-value = 0.824) between patients who had successful and failed TESE. Fisher's exacttest showed that most patients (90.3%) who have successful TESE outcome have normal FSH values.Logistic regression results showed no sufficient evidence to conclude that there is significantrelationship between TESE outcome and age (p-value = 0.503), LH (p-value = 0.542), FSH (p-value= 0.098), and TT (p-value = 0.819). Patients with normal FSH values are 6.22 times more likely tohave successful TESE outcomes compared to patients with elevated FSH values. However, logisticregression results showed no sufficient evidence to conclude that there is significant relationshipbetween successful TESE outcome and normal LH values (OR = 2.0, p-value = 0.493).@*CONCLUSION@#The preoperative factors for predicting success and failure of sperm retrieval duringTESE, including total testosterone, FSH and LH levels, were examined in this study, may not fullygive an estimation of the chances of obtaining spermatozoa in patients with NOA. Accordingly, thecombination and simultaneous interpretation of the other factors not present in this study, such astesticular volume, histopathological patterns, and karyotyping, would likely help to provide a moreaccurate prediction of success and failure and subsequently help the clinician to pursue the appropriatemethods of treatment for these patients.
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INTRODUCTION@#Varicoceles represent the most common attributable cause of primary and secondaryinfertility in the male. A number of studies have established the effect of performing varicocelectomyin order to improve semen parameters. Several techniques of varicocelectomy has been described inliterature, however, the microsurgical technique has been considered as the gold standard in doingthis procedure.@*OBJECTIVES@#The study primarily aims to establish the effect of microsurgical varicocelectomy onpostoperative semenalysis when compared to baseline semenalysis. It also aimed to establish theimpregnation rate and the span at which impregnation occurs following varicocelectomy. Lastly, thestudy also describes the technique and modifications of microsurgical subinguinal varicoelectomyperformed by a single surgeon using an operating microscope and microdoppler throughout theprocedure.@*MATERIALS AND METHODS@#Microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy was performed on 37 patients inSLMC from June 2015 to May 2017 by a single microsurgeon (DGL). Patient age, varicocele grade,operative time, intraoperative findings, postoperative complication, and 3-month follow-upsemenalysis results were recorded and compared. Successful impregnation of the partner and thenumber of months from the operation to the successful impregnation were also recorded.@*RESULTS@#Three months postoperative semenalysis parameters were compared to the baselinesemenalysis. The total sperm motility was noted to have increased from 27.95± 15.02 to 50.95±12.60,postoperatively with p-value of 0.010. There was no significant difference observed in the totalcount, concentration, and percent immature forms. Eleven or 30% of patients were able tosuccessfully impregnate their partners in an average span of 9 months from the time of surgery.@*CONCLUSION@#In their experience, Microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy has improved the semenanalysis after 3 months with a 30% chance of impregnation at an average span of 9 months,postoperatively. Furthermore, the use of microdoppler ultrasound in microsurgical varicocelectomyfacilitated better identification of the testicular arteries.