'Nephrostomy-free' percutaneous nephrolithotomy: experience in a UK district general hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the first-line treatment for large and complex renal calculi. Accepted UK practice is to insert a nephrostomy tube at the end of the procedure to drain the kidney and reduce potential complications. 'Tubeless' or 'nephrostomy-free' PCNL has been advocated in selected patients as it is thought to reduce length of hospital stay, analgesia requirements and pain experienced. We present our outcomes of a consecutive series (n = 101) of 'nephrostomy-free' PCNLs compared to standard PCNL over a 4-year period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 2004 and October 2006, we performed 55 standard (with nephrostomy tube) PCNLs (Group 1). From October 2006 onwards, we changed our technique and have performed 46 consecutive 'nephrostomy-free' PCNLs (JJ stent inserted), independent of patient and stone factors (Group 2). We have compared the two groups in terms of length of hospital stay (LOS), analgesia requirements, transfusion rates, haemoglobin (Hb) decrease and immediate, early and late complications. RESULTS: 'Nephrostomy-free' PCNL significantly reduced the length of hospital stay (2.8 vs 5.1 days; P < 0.001), morphine-based analgesia requirements (23% no morphine required vs 2.8%; P < 0.001), transfusion rate (2.5% vs 7%; P < 0.01) and mean Hb decrease (1.89 g/dl vs 2.25 g/dl; P > 0.05). Overall, no patient experienced a serious complication. All attempted 'nephrostomy-free' PCNLs were completed (stone clearance 95%) and no patient needed an unplanned nephrostomy. Only 5% in Group 2 needed their ureteric JJ stent removing earlier than planned secondary to pain. Both groups were comparable in terms of immediate, early and late complications, though three patients in Group 1 developed chronic loin pain and one patient in the 'nephrostomy-free' group developed a delayed perirenal haematoma. CONCLUSIONS: 'Nephrostomy-free' percutaneous nephrolithotomy is a safe, effective and feasible procedure independent of patient and stone factors. It decreases the length of hospital stay, the pain experienced and the need for morphine-based analgesia; we feel it should be the standard of care for patients undergoing a PCNL.

Day-case ureteroscopy: an observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome after day-case ureteroscopy (used in diagnosing and managing ureteric disease, primarily urolithiasis), as awareness of reduced resources has resulted in increasing pressure to undertake procedures in a day-surgery setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients presenting to the unit and requiring ureteroscopy between May 1995 and May 2000 were considered for a day-surgery procedure. The assessment of suitability comprised anaesthetic and social factors; no urological criteria precluded a day-surgery procedure. Outcomes after day-case ureteroscopy, including immediate or delayed admissions and subsequent inpatient management, were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Sixty-three day-case ureteroscopies were performed on 56 patients (mean age 47 years, range 19-78); eight procedures were diagnostic. Therapeutic ureteroscopies included one balloon dilatation of a ureteric stricture and 54 procedures for urolithiasis, with 98% stone clearance. Most patients were discharged with a JJ stent in situ. Of nine patients requiring immediate admission, seven were for pain control; eight were discharged on the following day. Seven patients required delayed admission 1-13 days after the procedure, three for stent-related symptoms and three for infection. No significant predictors of immediate or delayed admission were identified, although antibiotic prophylaxis was associated with a reduced admission rate. CONCLUSION: Ureteroscopy can be used successfully as a planned day-case procedure in a dedicated day-surgery unit, with few patients requiring hospitalization. Implementation of analgesia protocols and routine antibiotic prophylaxis may reduce admission after day-case ureteroscopy.

Bladder and erectile dysfunction before and after rectal surgery for cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the incidence of bladder and erectile dysfunction after rectal surgery for cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty patients (16 men and four women, median age 66 years, range 36-78) with carcinoma of the rectum were prospectively studied immediately before and 4 months after operation by clinical assessment, uroflowmetry and video-cystometrography. All patients were catheterized routinely at the time of surgery. Those experiencing voiding difficulties after catheter removal were managed by intermittent self-catheterization or an indwelling urethral catheter. RESULTS: Before surgery, only six patients had completely normal bladder function and 13 of the 16 men were at least partially potent. Eight of the 19 patients who eventually had surgery developed identifiable bladder dysfunction, of whom three had urodynamic evidence of complete bladder denervation. Three men who were potent before became impotent after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Bladder and erectile dysfunction are recognized complications of radical rectal surgery, although there is significant variation in the reported risk; much of this variability is related to the retrospective nature of most previous studies. This study demonstrates the importance of prospective urodynamic evaluation and confirms that the small but significant risk of permanent bladder dysfunction is likely to be related to pelvic nerve injury at the time of surgery.

Sex distribution of adult idiopathic detrusor instability in relation to childhood bedwetting.

The urodynamic case records of 1000 consecutive men and women were reviewed to study the link between idiopathic detrusor instability (DI) and childhood nocturnal enuresis and to determine whether a sex difference in this relationship may exist. Idiopathic DI was found in 10% of the men, 63% of whom had suffered from childhood bedwetting; 29% of the women had idiopathic instability, of whom 38% had been nocturnal enuretics. Thus the link between adult idiopathic DI and childhood bedwetting appeared to be stronger for men than for women. The sex distribution of subjects is not always reported in urodynamic studies of bedwetters and adults with an unstable bladder. We suggest that this should become routine practice as it may help to shed light on the aetiology of idiopathic detrusor instability.

Fifteen-year experience of carcinoma of the scrotum.

Between January 1975 and December 1989, 13 men were treated for carcinoma of the scrotum; 11 lesions were squamous cell and 2 basal cell carcinomas. Eleven patients initially underwent local wide excision and 1 local excision with inguinal node dissection. Two patients died of recurrent disease and 4 from unrelated causes, giving a corrected 5-year survival rate of 62.5%.

Severe hepatocellular dysfunction following cyproterone acetate therapy.

Cyproterone acetate (CPA) is a widely used drug in the treatment of advanced prostatic carcinoma. Although it is generally well tolerated, liver toxicity has been recognised as a complication of long-term use. We report 3 patients with severe hepatocellular damage due to CPA therapy, 2 with fatal fulminant hepatitis.

Urodynamic evaluation of lower urinary tract function in relation to total hysterectomy.

Although many women relate the onset of urinary symptoms to the operation of simple hysterectomy, many also have symptoms prior to surgery. Prospective study is therefore the most valid method of objective analysis of the effects of this operation upon micturition. To determine whether total hysterectomy is associated with increased postoperative vesicourethral abnormality, the incidences of urinary symptoms and urodynamic abnormality were assessed pre and postoperatively in 36 women undergoing hysterectomy. Preoperative symptoms were present in 58.3%, although urodynamically proven dysfunction was found in only 38.9%. After hysterectomy, 75% of women were symptomatic with a further 30.6% developing a urodynamic abnormality. The operation of total (simple) hysterectomy is associated with a significant increase in the subjective and objective incidence of vesicourethral dysfunction.

Urine flow rates in male and female urodynamic patients compared with the Liverpool nomograms.

The Liverpool male and female nomograms provide normal reference ranges for the maximum and average urine flow rates over a wide range of voided volumes. A known urine flow rate, in combination with the respective voided volume (and in men the age), can be converted into an equivalent centile ranking, using the equation for the relevant nomogram. Centile rankings allow the urine flow rates of specific male and female populations to be compared. The maximum and average urine flow rates of urodynamic patients (504 consecutive male and 168 consecutive female) were converted into centile rankings. These centile rankings were then compared with the respective urodynamic diagnoses. The median centile rankings for their maximum and average urine flow rates were 21 and 11 (male) respectively and 31 and 18 (female) (vs 50 for the normal populations). The low urine flow rates applied to all diagnostic groups, including those symptomatic men and women who were found to be urodynamically normal. Low urine flow rates may be one of a number of subtle manifestations of urological disease in these patients. Men with obstruction and women with voiding difficulties had the lowest urine flow rates. The 25th centile (men) and the 10th centile (women) appeared to be most appropriate lower limits of normality for both urine flow rates to identify those men more likely to be obstructed and those women at higher risk of voiding difficulties. Men and women with detrusor instability had the highest urine flow rates. Detrusor instability was present in 71% of men with centile rankings for the maximum urine flow rate over 50; 50% of women whose maximum urine flow rate centiles were over 90 had detrusor instability.

Transrectal ultrasound to measure bladder volumes in men.

Transrectal linear array ultrasound is described as a method in men to measure bladder volumes of 5 to 200 ml., overcoming the limitations of abdominal ultrasound at these smaller, although clinically important volumes. The mean error in a preliminary series with known volumes of 10 to 175 ml. was 18%. Statistical analysis of these data shows that an unknown bladder volume in milliliters can be calculated from the measurement of 2 sagittal bladder diameters, the height and depth, by the formula volume (ml.) = 5.3 X (height X depth) - 21. This equation when applied to measurements of a series of unknown bladder volumes had a mean error of 16%. Transrectal ultrasonic measurement of residual urine volumes (mostly those less than 175 ml.) provides a useful complement to visualization of the prostate by transrectal ultrasound.

Urodynamic evaluation prior to total hysterectomy: indications and incidence of abnormality.

Although it is recognized that total hysterectomy may be associated with subsequent urinary symptoms, many women are symptomatic prior to operation. However, only objective rather than subjective analysis can provide an accurate assessment of the preoperative state of the lower urinary tract. This study determined the incidence of preoperative, urodynamically-proven, vesicourethral dysfunction in women undergoing total hysterectomy. The incidence of urinary symptoms in 30 women awaiting hysterectomy was assessed and compared with the urodynamic findings. Sixteen (53%) of these patients had preoperative urinary symptoms, although bladder dysfunction was present in only 8 (27%). The presence of marked urinary symptoms in women awaiting hysterectomy warrants preoperative urodynamic investigation to identify any underlying bladder dysfunction.

Bladder dysfunction after simple hysterectomy: urodynamic and neurological evaluation.

Many women presenting with symptoms of bladder dysfunction relate their onset to the operation of simple hysterectomy. This study reviews the urodynamic findings in 126 women who had a simple hysterectomy, of whom 25 also had sacral reflex latencies measured. The results show that 47.0% had detrusor instability, 36.7% had urethral obstruction, and 24.8% stress incontinence. These findings are statistically significant when compared to controls. 80% of the women who underwent measurement of sacral reflex latencies had evidence of nerve conduction abnormality.

The effects of simple hysterectomy on vesicourethral function.

Many women who present with symptoms of bladder dysfunction relate the onset to the operation of simple hysterectomy. A group of 42 women undergoing simple hysterectomy was studied prospectively. Urinary symptoms, urodynamic findings and sacral reflex latencies (SRLs) were assessed pre- and post-operatively. After hysterectomy the incidence of urinary symptoms increased from 58.3 to 75.0%. Vesicourethral dysfunction was altered in 30.6% of patients, 72.7% of whom had evidence of pelvic neuropathy as detected by SRLs. The results show that simple hysterectomy is associated with a significant incidence of post-operative vesicourethral dysfunction and that there is an identifiable neurological abnormality incurred at operation which is pertinent to the subsequent disordered voiding.

Chronic urinary retention--a sensory problem?

Factors which predispose some men with benign prostatic hyperplasia to chronic urinary retention whilst others develop acute retention are not understood. In order to assess whether there is an occult neuropathy associated with chronic retention, neurophysiological measurements were used to test the integrity of the lower urinary tract nerve supply. A series of 22 male patients with chronic urinary retention secondary to prostatic hyperplasia underwent sacral reflex latency measurement; 73% demonstrated a sensory suprasacral abnormality with intact spinal reflex arcs. These results suggest that although the sacral reflex pathways are intact, there is a sensory/proprioceptive abnormality in the higher neurological centres which may be an adaptive mechanism to the presence of bladder outflow obstruction.

The use of sacral reflex latencies in detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia.

Detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia (DBND) is a well recognised cause of bladder outflow obstruction, especially in the younger man. The cause is unknown, and the aim of this study was to determine if any neurological dysfunction is associated with this condition. Twenty-five males with proven DBND had sacral reflex latency studies performed. The conduction latencies indicate that the underlying cause is unrelated to any demonstrable neuropathy. Sacral reflex latencies are not helpful in the investigation of DBND.

Bulbocavernosus reflex latency in the investigation of diabetic impotence.

Impotence in males is a well recognised complication of diabetes mellitus, commonly held to be due to an autonomic neuropathy. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of periphero-conus neuropathy in diabetic impotence. Nineteen diabetic males seeking treatment for loss of potency had bulbocavernosus reflex latency (BCRL) and sacral reflex latencies (SRLs) performed. The conduction studies indicated that impotence in these cases was associated with peripheral neuropathy in 21% of patients and that BCRL and SRLs are sensitive and useful diagnostic tests.