Renal vein thrombosis and metastasis to the bladder: an unusual presentation of malignant melanoma.

Malignant melanoma of the bladder and renal vein thrombosis are rarely seen in common urologic practice. Here, an interesting case of renal vein thrombosis associated with malignant melanoma involving the bladder is presented.

Simultaneous presence of schistosomiasis and advanced cancer in prostate.

A forty-nine-year-old patient was found to have Schistosoma eggs inside his prostatic cancer. At the time of diagnosis, the patient already had spread of metastatic disease in lumbar spine. Review of the literature revealed this to be the first such case published in English literature. Despite advanced stage of disease (Stage D2), the patient responded well to immediate orchiectomy and regional irradiation. Two years after diagnosis was established, the patient was without clinical evidence of disease, when he suddenly died. The cause of death was not established because the family declined an autopsy.

Initial experience with therasonic lithotriptor.

Piezoelectric shock wave lithotripsy has been shown to offer a low-cost, safe, anesthesia-free yet effective means of disintegrating urinary calculi. The Therasonic lithotriptor combines proprietary piezoelectric shock wave technology for effective stone fragmentation with a multi-purpose urologic table and both fluoroscopic and ultrasound imaging for accurate stone localization and real-time treatment monitoring. From December 1, 1988 to November 15, 1989, 138 patients with 172 calculi were treated (94.2% were intrarenal, 5.8% were in ureter). All stones greater than or equal to 4 mm were considered suitable for treatment. Lithotripsy was performed under intravenous sedation except when ancillary procedures were necessary. For evaluation of device effectiveness, 94 patients were available with follow-up greater than or equal to thirty days. Successful fragmentation (stone free or residual debris less than or equal to 4 mm) was achieved in 97 percent of patients. The retreatment rate for stones 0.5-2.0 cm was 11 percent, and the overall retreatment rate was 21.2 percent regardless of stone size. Complications were minimal, transient, and resolved spontaneously.

A retrospective analysis of the metabolic status of stone formers in the New York City metropolitan areas.

Eighty stone-forming patients were evaluated as outpatients for risk factors involved in stone formation. Analyses of the major stone risk parameters in the 24-hour collections indicated low volume (less than 2L) in about 79% of these patients. Forty percent of all patients were found to be hypocitraturic, 30% were hyperoxaluric, 18% were hypercalciuric, and 13% were hyperuricosuric. Sixty-one percent of the patients had a normal calcium load study; of these, four patients were uric acid stone formers. The remaining 39% of patients were classified as either absorptive hypercalciuric (16 patients), or fasting hypercalciuric with normal (12 patients) or elevated (3 patients) serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Of these 31 patients, 61% were not hypercalciuric on the basis of the 24-hour urine collections. The protocol provided a diagnosis in over 98% of patients. Low urinary volume was the only defect found in 5% of patients, while more than one risk factor was identified in 93%.

Scrotal island flap urethroplasty in the management of bulbar urethral strictures.

We describe our experience with 20 patients undergoing 1-stage scrotal island flap urethroplasty for severe bulbomembranous stricture disease. While 16 patients achieved satisfactory results, 4 required revision for recurrent stricture, diverticulum or fistula. Use of hairless skin and aggressive tailoring of the flap are stressed to avoid the common complications of diverticulum, hair ball and stone formation. This highly vascularized pedicle represents a reasonable alternative to staged repair when local tissue scarring is great and free full thickness skin graft viability is questionable.

A report of 4 patients with the Drash syndrome and a review of the literature.

Four patients with the Drash syndrome, represented by the triad of male pseudohermaphroditism, progressive renal insufficiency and Wilms tumor are discussed. This syndrome, which some have suggested should be expanded to include patients with nephropathy, Wilms tumor and any abnormality of gonadal differentiation, appears early in life. The first sign usually is genital ambiguity. However, proteinuria, hematuria and hypertension eventually require renal biopsy, which may reveal a variety of glomerular and interstitial changes. The nephropathy progresses rapidly, is unresponsive to steroids and eventually requires dialysis. Wilms tumor may appear as a mass on ultrasound or it may not be recognized until nephrectomy or even autopsy. Young children with gonadal dysgenesis and nephropathy are at high risk for nephroblastoma and gonadal tumors and, therefore, prophylactic nephrectomy and gonadectomy should be considered early in the course of this disease.

Arteriovenous malformations of the bladder.

We report a rare case of a localized arteriovenous malformation of the bladder mimicking a bladder tumor and presenting with gross hematuria. The mass was successfully resected transurethrally.

Effects of ultrasound on ultrastructure of human testes.

Studies to detect ultrastructural changes in testicular tissues after a fifteen-minute exposure to ultrasonic waves were done in 10 men undergoing bilateral orchiectomies for prostatic carcinoma. Examination of Sertoli cells and germ cells in different stages of differentiation failed to reveal significant differences between exposed and control testes.

Total replacement of bladder and urethra by cecum and appendix in bladder exstrophy.

The first case of total bladder and urethral replacement by cecoappendiceal unit was achieved in a five-year-old boy born with bladder exstrophy. Residual vesical and prostatic tissue was utilized to provide continence successfully.

Selective surgical management of cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck.

A series of 206 patients with cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck has been studied. Ninety patients had a regional lymph node dissections performed. Seventeen lymph node dissections were done therapeutically and 73 were done electively. Thirty-one patients had histologically positive lymph nodes and, of these, 30 patients have been followed to the present time or death. Twenty-nine of these patients (97%) have developed systemic melanoma. Twenty-six patients have died and three are alive with disease. No patient had local recurrence alone while four had local recurrence synchronously with systemic metastases. This contrasts with 29 patients followed for greater than five years with histologically negative nodes, 27 (93.1%) of whom are alive with no evidence of recurrent disease. Regional node metastases with melanoma of the head and neck is an almost certain indication of systemic disease. A selective surgical approach to invasive melanoma in this region is proposed based on the observation in the 31 patients who had radical neck dissections with histologically positive nodes. The metastases always involved the nodal group adjacent to the primary site. This selective approach should allow optimal local control and accurate pathologic staging while limiting the extent of the surgery.