Cardiac myxomas: causes, presentations, diagnosis, and management.

Cardiac myxomas (CM) are one of the most common benign tumors which are typical in adults with a yearly incidence of 0.5-1 case per million individuals. This review article includes discussions based on existing literature on the role of interleukin interactions in the pathophysiology of cardiac myxoma which can lead to embolic complications, aneurysms, and CNS involvement. The objective of this narrative review was to study the variable clinical presentations of cardiac myxoma, its detection and diagnosis involving multiple modalities like genetic and hematological testing, echocardiography, CT, and MRI, of which transoesophageal echocardiogram shows excellent precision with a 90% to 96% accuracy in diagnosing CM. Individuals with the Carney complex are prone to such neoplasia. Cardiac myxomas are challenging to diagnose due to the ambiguity of their differential with thrombi. Myxomas can also be diagnosed by tumor markers like interleukin-6 and endothelial growth factors. The management of CM includes surgical excision like median sternotomy and robotic minimally invasive surgery. The use of robotic surgery in CM increased from 1.8% in 2012 to 15.1% in 2018. Tumor recurrences are uncommon but can occur due to inadequate surgical resection.

Aquablation for benign prostatic obstruction: Single center technique evolution and experience.

PURPOSE: Aquablation is a new technology that relies on real-time ultrasound guidance to ablate prostatic tissues using high velocity pressurized water. We hereby present our data and experience in this technique by exploring the perioperative surgical and functional outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospectively filled study including consecutive patients who underwent aquablation at our Middle Eastern tertiary care center. Patient demographics, voiding parameters, and prostate disease specific variables were collected. We reported on the surgical and functional outcomes as well as the 3-month adverse events. We also explored the trend in hemoglobin drop and hemostasis method by dividing the consecutive cases into four temporal periods. RESULTS: Fifty-nine patients underwent aquablation between March 2018 and March 2020. Mean time from transrectal ultrasound to Foley insertion was 48.5±2.5 minutes. Cautery was performed in 35 patients (59.3%) and a catheter-tensioning device was mounted in 50 patients (84.7%). On average, the hemoglobin dropped by -1.7±0.2 ng/dL (p<0.0001). The average length of catheterization and hospital stay were 2.1±0.3 days and 2.2±0.1 days, respectively. Only three patients (5.1%) were re-hospitalized. At three months, the average drop in serum prostate-specific antigen was -36.6±6.0% (p<0.0001) and functional outcomes considerably improved. We also recorded 14 adverse events in 13 patients (overall rate of 22.0%), with grade 1 and grade 2 complications comprising 71.4% of all adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Our study results confirm the safety and efficacy of the aquablation procedure in the adoption phase.