Salvage penile prosthetic surgery utilizing temporary malleable implants.

The inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) is an effective erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment modality when oral and injectable therapies fail to achieve satisfactory results. Unfortunately, infection of the prosthetic remains a dreaded complication occurring in a small fraction of patients despite advances in device design and surgical techniques. With a prosthetic infection or erosion, classic management has included removal of all hardware with thorough irrigation of the infected spaces. To prevent corporal fibrosis and scarring that can make a subsequent implant challenging, an immediate salvage procedure with a three-piece prosthesis has been advocated when possible. However, there has been recent interest in using malleable devices during salvage procedures to serve as a temporary implant and further improve outcomes. Based on a literature review of immediate salvage procedures for infected penile prostheses, management with typical Mulcahy washout and IPP reimplant may be quite successful in appropriately selected patients. Based on one case series and a second multicenter trial of malleable salvage procedures, utilizing a malleable as a temporary implant is similarly, if not more, successful at eradicating prosthetic infection. The malleable implant not only serves as a temporary space-filling corporal implant to prevent fibrosis, but may also prove an adequate destination therapy for some given the lower than expected rate of delayed conversion to inflatable prosthesis. Future studies are needed to better characterize the role of malleable devices for penile prosthetic salvage and query patient satisfaction with the malleable device and repeated surgeries.

High recurrence rate at 5-year followup in children after upper urinary tract stone surgery.

PURPOSE: Pediatric urolithiasis has been treated with shock wave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy with high success rates during short-term followup. We studied our success rate and modifiable risk factors in patients with at least 5 years of followup postoperatively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective chart review was performed for patients younger than 18 years who underwent upper tract stone surgery between 1999 and 2007, were stone-free afterward and had at least 5 years of followup. Recurrence rate, and anatomical and metabolic abnormalities were assessed. RESULTS: Of 60 eligible children 30 (33 kidneys) had at least 5 years of followup. Average patient age at surgery was 10 years, 17 patients were female and 20 kidneys had anatomical abnormalities. Overall recurrence rate at 5 years was 55% (95% CI 38%-70%). Ureteral stones had a lower recurrence rate than renal stones (5 of 19 and 13 of 14, respectively, p <0.001). Patients with abnormal anatomy had a 65% (95% CI 43%-82%) chance of recurrence within 5 years vs 38% (95% CI 18%-65%) in those with normal anatomy (p = 0.17). Of the 18 recurrences 10 required a second operation, 7 demonstrated abnormal anatomy and 14 involved calcium based stones. A 24-hour urine test in 13 children revealed 10 with hypercalciuria and 11 with hypocitraturia, with 9 patients exhibiting both conditions. CONCLUSIONS: We found a high recurrence rate in children with stones requiring surgical intervention, particularly those with abnormal anatomy. This finding should be confirmed in a larger multicenter study of recurrence rates. In the meantime our results suggest a need for aggressive diagnosis and treatment of metabolic abnormalities.

The ability of the quadruple test to predict adverse perinatal outcomes in a high-risk obstetric population.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the ability of the quadruple Down's syndrome screening test (quad screen) to predict other adverse perinatal outcomes (APO) in a high-risk obstetric population. SETTING: A tertiary medical centre in West Virginia. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 342 obstetric patients with quad screen data from a single clinic. The quad screen included maternal serum levels of alphafetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), uncongjugated oestriol (uE(3)), and inhibin A. The risk of APO was compared between patients with at least one abnormal marker versus no abnormal markers and >or=2 abnormal markers versus <2 abnormal markers. Abnormal markers were determined by cut-off values produced by Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves and the FASTER trial. Unadjusted and adjusted effects were estimated using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The risk of having an APO increased significantly for patients with abnormal markers by about three-fold using ROC and two-fold using FASTER trial thresholds. CONCLUSIONS: The quad screen shows value in predicting risk of APO in high-risk patients.

Struma Ovarii with a focus of follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Struma Ovarii is a mature ovarian teratoma that consists mainly of thyroid tissue. Mature cystic teratomas may contain small amounts of thyroid tissue. Carcinomatous change in Struma Ovarii is extremely rare. No guidelines exist regarding the staging and treatment of malignant Struma Ovarii. OBJECTIVES: To report a case of Struma Ovarii with a focus follicular variant papillary thyroid cancer. CASE: A 36 year old nulligravid patient presented with a pelvic mass palpated on her routine annual exam. Struma Ovarii with a focus of follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer was diagnosed during the subsequent laparoscopy and ovarian cystectomy. INTERVENTION: She then underwent a staging laparotomy, total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingoophorectomy, and infracolic omentecomy. FOLLOW-UP: Tumor markers, thyroid studies, thyroid scan, and whole body scans were normal. CONCLUSION: Optimal treatment and surveillance of malignant struma ovarii has yet to be determined.

Patient access and clinical efficiency improvement in a resident hospital-based women's medicine center clinic.

OBJECTIVES: To apply the Six Sigma tools of Change Acceleration Process and Work-Out and to improve patient access in an outpatient clinic in a hospital-based residency training program. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. METHODS: Comparison of productivity in an obstetrics and gynecology clinic after implementation of the Six Sigma principles, with a comparable internal medicine clinic as a control group. Productivity from January 1 through December 31, 2005, was assessed in both clinics. After applying the Six Sigma tools to obstetrics and gynecology, outputs from both clinics from January 1 through December 31, 2006, were analyzed. RESULTS: Wait times for new obstetrical visits decreased from 38 to 8 days. The patient time spent in the clinic dropped from 3.2 to 1.5 hours. Initial gynecologic visits increased by 87% (from 453 to 850 per year), return gynecologic visits increased by 66% (from 1392 to 2311 per year), initial obstetrical visits increased by 55% (from 520 to 808 per year), repeat obstetrical visits increased by 45% (from 2239 to 3243 per year), and the mean patient satisfaction scores increased from 5.75 to 8.54 (on a 10-point scale). The gross clinic revenue increased by 73% in the first 6 months of 2006 over that of the previous year. By contrast, internal medicine patient wait times for new patients and for revisits, patient satisfaction scores, total number of clinic visits, and revenues remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: Application of the Six Sigma principles resulted in a team approach to solving the clinic's productivity issues.