A 56-Year-Old Woman Presenting 19 Years After Pubic Bone Fracture with a Surgical Screw Foreign Body in the Bladder.

BACKGROUND Non-calculus foreign bodies in the bladder are rare and are usually introduced via the urethra. Reports of the migration of metallic foreign bodies from previous surgery are uncommon and mainly associated with surgical screws used for the internal fixation of pubic bone fracture and total hip replacement. This report is of a 56-year-old woman presenting with a surgical screw foreign body in the bladder 19 years after open surgical reduction and internal plate and screw fixation of traumatic fracture of the pubic bone. CASE REPORT A 56-year-old woman visited a urologist because of gross hematuria. She mentioned a mild pelvic pain and multiple lower urinary tract infections over the past 2 years, with no other symptoms. From the previous history, she had undergone an open reduction and internal fixation of the pelvic ring, with surgical plates and screws following pubic bone's fracture, due to an accident 19 years earlier. Cystoscopy identified the presence of a screw head protruding into the bladder wall. The screw was extracted via open surgery, and the patient was discharged 2 days later. CONCLUSIONS While intravesical foreign bodies are rarely seen in Emergency Departments, clinicians should maintain a level of suspicion in certain cases. The purpose of this case report is to present the unlikely and delayed complication of internal pubic bone fixation resulting in the migration of a fixation screw to the bladder. It also highlights the importance of imaging in diagnosis and localization of the foreign body in the bladder.

The Role of Carbon Nanoparticles in Lymph Node Dissection and Parathyroid Gland Preservation during Surgery for Thyroid Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy with an increasing incidence over the past few years. Surgery is considered the primary therapeutic option, which often involves lymph node dissection. The aim of this study was to assess the role of carbon nanoparticles, a novel agent, in thyroid cancer surgery. For that purpose, we conducted a systematic review of the literature on MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases from 1 January 2002 to 31 January 2022. Ultimately, 20 articles with a total number of 2920 patients were included in the analysis. The outcome of the analysis showed that the use of carbon nanoparticles is associated with a higher number of harvested lymph nodes (WMD, 1.47, 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.82, p < 0.001) and a lower rate of accidental parathyroid gland removal (OR 0.34, CI 95% 0.24 to 0.50, p < 0.001). Based on these results, we suggest that carbon nanoparticles are applied in thyroid cancer surgery on a wider scale, so that these findings can be confirmed by future research on the subject.

The Role of Adjuvant Single Postoperative Instillation of Gemcitabine for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Bladder cancer is a heterogeneous disease with variable natural history. Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer has a favorable prognosis following transurethral resection, but the optimal adjuvant chemotherapy plan is still in debate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the adjuvant intravesical administration of a single dose of gemcitabine in the outcome of this disease. For that purpose, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on available randomized control trials on MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Ultimately, two studies were included with a total number of 654 patients. The statistical analysis performed showed that a single post-operative intravesical dose of gemcitabine does not affect the recurrence rate of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer compared to placebo. Therefore, this therapeutic strategy does not offer any significant improvement on the outcomes of the disease. Nonetheless, due to the plethora of available therapeutic agents and treatment strategies, further research is needed to establish the optimal treatment in this category of patients.

Pneumomediastinum as a rare complication in an immunosuppressed patient with emphysematous cystitis.

The extravesical spread of gas into the extraperitoneal space is an unusual complication of emphysematous cystitis and rarely, can reach remote areas of the body. Herein, we present the case of an immunosuppressed woman with emphysematous cystitis and extensive spread of extraperitoneal free gas up to the mediastinum.