Safety outcomes of the first Rigi10™ malleable penile prostheses implanted worldwide.

Implantation of penile prosthesis is considered when conservative measures fail or are unacceptable to patients' wishing treatment for erectile dysfunction. In the United States (US), inflatable penile prostheses are more often used than malleable penile prostheses (MPP). Outside the US, the reverse is true because third-party reimbursement is not available, and MPP is considerably cheaper. Two American manufacturers make MPP; presently, a new manufacturer, Rigicon (Ronkonkoma NY), has recently begun to sell its MPP worldwide. Patient information forms submitted to the manufacturer between March 1, 2019, and December 8, 2022, were used to conduct an initial safety study for 605 first-time patients implanted with Rigicon10® by 46 physicians in 15 countries with a mean follow-up of 21.6 months. It has the same configuration of trimmable, paired silicone rods containing a twisted stainless-steel wire for bendability. However, it is available in six widths with hydrophilic coating compared to three widths offered by competitors. Revision or explantation was needed in 6 of 605 patients (0.99%) with half of those being removed for dissatisfaction (0.50%). Two (0.33%) suffered device infection and one (0.16%) required removal for erosion. Kaplan-Meier's statistical analysis showed three-year implant survival from revision = 99.2%. It demonstrated a comparable safety record with less than 1.00% of patients requiring reoperation.

Big data in third world countries: Do the means justify the end?

The amount of data that is being generated in health care is enormous, especially with the widespread availability of multimedia devices. However, the data keeping in developing countries is still unstructured. Lots of this Big Data is therefore vulnerable to loss. In the current report we highlight the problem and suggest the need for cost effective solution.

Contrast enhanced ultrasound in urothelial carcinoma of urinary bladder: An underutilized staging and grading modality.

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as a modality to predict T stage of cancer of urinary bladder (CAUB) and to predict the grade of the tumor preoperatively. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 110 patients with CAUB presenting to the Department of Urology at our institution between July 2014 and December 2015 underwent CEUS prior to endoscopic resection and the CEUS findings were compared with histopathology results. RESULTS: CEUS had a sensitivity of 75, 65 and 90% and specificity of 95, 85 and 92% in detecting Ta, T1 and muscle invasion respectively. CEUS had a sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 85% in detecting the grade of the lesion. CONCLUSIONS: CEUS is a good alternative for T staging and grading of CAUB preoperatively. It is uniquely advantageous in detecting clots or necrosis and in patients with low eGFR where other imaging modalities are contraindicated.