Penile skin flap: a versatile substitute for anterior urethral stricture

ABSTRACT Purpose Penile skin flap uretroplasty is a useful technique for a long urethral stricture due to the ample length and surgical handling characteristics. We investigated the surgical technique and initial results of uretroplasty for anterior urethral strictures using a dorsal penile skin flap. Patients and methods From January 2003 to January 2018, a total of 77 patients underwent substitution urethroplasty using dorsal penile skin flap for bulbar urethral strictures in our institution. All patients were assessed preoperatively, and followed postoperatively by physical examination, urinalysis, retrograde and voiding urethrography, uroflowmetry and post-void residual urine measurement. Success was defined as no requirement of additional urethral instrumentation. Results The mean age was 45 years (10-87). The mean stricture length was 5cm (3-10cm). The mean flap length was 6cm. Urinary fistula was the most common postoperative complication. The mean follow-up was 60 months (6-120). The overall success rate was 88%. Recurrent strictures were found in 4 patients (5%) at 1 year. At 3 year follow-up, 5 (7%) more patients had recurrences. All recurrences were managed by internal urethrotomy. Conclusions Substitution urethroplasty using penile skin flap appear to be a safe and efficient technique for the treatment of a long and complex anterior urethral stricture. It provides encouraging cosmetic and functional results.

Penile skin flap: a versatile substitute for anterior urethral stricture.

PURPOSE: Penile skin flap uretroplasty is a useful technique for a long urethral stricture due to the ample length and surgical handling characteristics. We investigated the surgical technique and initial results of uretroplasty for anterior urethral strictures using a dorsal penile skin flap. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 2003 to January 2018, a total of 77 patients underwent substitution urethroplasty using dorsal penile skin flap for bulbar urethral strictures in our institution. All patients were assessed preoperatively, and followed postoperatively by physical examination, urinalysis, retrograde and voiding urethrography, uroflowmetry and post-void residual urine measurement. Success was defi ned as no requirement of additional urethral instrumentation. RESULTS: The mean age was 45 years (10-87). The mean stricture length was 5cm (3-10cm). The mean flap length was 6cm. Urinary fi stula was the most common postoperative complication. The mean follow-up was 60 months (6-120). The overall success rate was 88%. Recurrent strictures were found in 4 patients (5%) at 1 year. At 3 year follow-up, 5 (7%) more patients had recurrences. All recurrences were managed by internal urethrotomy. CONCLUSIONS: Substitution urethroplasty using penile skin fl ap appear to be a safe and effi cient technique for the treatment of a long and complex anterior urethral stricture. It provides encouraging cosmetic and functional results.

Mixed nutcracker syndrome with left renal vein duplication: A severe and exceptional presentation in an 18-year-old boy.

The nutcracker syndrome (NCS) is rare and often misdiagnosed because it embraces an extended non-pathognomonic spectrum of symptoms that imply a difficult diagnosis. Ultimately it may be associated with substantial morbidity and even life-threatening events. Mixed NCS with renal vein duplication is an exceptional variety, have previously been reported to the best of our knowledge. We report a rare case of an 18-year-old boy who presented with a long history of abdominal, pelvic and left flank pain, fatigue and higher bilateral varicocele. Computed tomographic angiography, Doppler ultrasonography and venography were performed revealed left renal vein duplication with dilated retroaortic and preaortic branchs, entrapped respectively between the aorta and the vertebral column and in the aortico-mesenteric space, with extensive and complex varices of the deep pelvic venous plexus; promoting the mixed renal NCS. Auto transplantation of the left kidney was suggested, but refused by the patient; and only the varicocele was managed. The patient is still suffering from his severe initial symptoms. Diagnosis is difficult and should be considered in patients with inexplicable flank or abdominal pain. Our purpose is to raise clinician's awareness for this condition so that they will be more likely to diagnose it. This will facilitate prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Modified medial nephropexy for treatment of the anterior nutcracker syndrome.

We report the case of a 15-year-old male, presenting with recurrent gross hematuria complicated by acute anemia. Cystoscopy showed little bleeding from the left ureteral orifice. Diagnosis of left renal vein compression at the aortomesenteric space was established through color Doppler ultrasonography and computed tomographic angiography. Therapeutic attitude was interventionist in our case, performing successful management with modified medial nephropexy, with a retroperitoneal approch. To the best of our knowledge, we report the second case of left medial nephropexy for treatment of the anterior nutcracker syndrome. The first case of modified medial nephropexy was done by lowering the left renal vein from its initial position in the aortomesenteric angle through a restrict retroperitoneal approach.

Nutcracker syndrome complicated by left renal vein thrombosis.

Isolated renal vein thrombosis is a rare entity. We present a patient whose complaint of flank pain led to the diagnosis of a renal vein thrombosis. In this case, abdominal computed tomography angiography was helpful in diagnosing the nutcracker syndrome complicated by the renal vein thrombosis. Anticoagulation was started and three weeks later, CTA showed complete disappearance of the renal vein thrombosis. To treat the Nutcracker syndrome, we proposed left renal vein transposition that the patient consented to.

Unexpected small urinary bladder pheochromocytoma: a nonspecific presentation.

Objectives. Pheochromocytoma of the urinary bladder is an extremely rare tumor that typically presents with a hypertensive crisis during micturition. Preoperatively, it may be misdiagnosed due to nonspecific symptomatology, physical, and radiologic findings. Method. We report a case of unsuspected small pheochromocytoma which was incidentally found by CT scan and confirmed by the histological aspects after transurethral resection in a 63-year-old woman. Here, we have described the clinical presentation, physical findings, laboratory investigations, and treatment provided in our case. We have also included radiological images and histopathology slides with input from both radiologists and pathologists. Surgical management and postoperative follow-up are discussed, as are details of previous published data. Results. After undergoing surgical treatment (transurethral resection), our patient is asymptomatic, with complete resolution of her pathology. Conclusion. Diagnosis is difficult before histopathological examination and should be considered in patients with no risk factors for usual bladder tumor. Our purpose is to raise clinician's awareness for this condition so that they will be more likely to diagnose it. This will facilitate prompt diagnosis and treatment and especially prevent complications due to pheochromocytoma which may be severe.

Factors affecting the outcome of ureteroscopy in the management of ureteral stones in children.

PURPOSE: To identify the factors involved in failure and post-operative complications of retrograde rigid ureteroscopy (URS) in the treatment of ureteric stones in children. METHODS: This is a retrospective study, including 33 children who underwent 34 rigid URS (one case bilateral) for obstructive ureteric stones over a period of 10 years. Patient age, sex, presenting symptoms, stone size and location, operative technique, surgical outcomes and complications were recorded. Ureteroscopy was done in a manner similar to that in adults. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U, the Chi-square or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: There were 33 children (22 girls and 11 boys) with a mean age of 10.8 years (range 4-16 years) presenting 34 stones. The site of stones was pelvic in 24 cases (70.5%), iliac in 2 cases (6%) and lumbar in 8 cases (23.5%). The mean size of stones was 10.9 mm (5-22 mm). The success rate was 91%. There were no intraoperative complications. Post-operative complications rate was 21%. Factors associated with failure were size, localization of the stone, and delay of surgery. Factors associated with post-operative complications were size of the stone and operative time. CONCLUSION: The rigid URS in children is a reliable and effective treatment option in the management of ureteric stones. Favorable factors for success of the procedure are pelvic stone and stone size <10 mm.

Synergistic effect and VEGF/HSP70-hom haplotype analysis: relationship to prostate cancer risk and clinical outcome.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a complex disorder resulting from the combined effects of multiple environmental and genetic factors. Our previous single-locus analysis showed that VEGF and HSP70-hom polymorphisms were significantly associated with PCa susceptibility and prognosis. Both genes encoding these proteins were located on chromosome 6p21, and combining the neighboring single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) into haplotypes may increase the association with the disease. Three tagging polymorphisms, the HSP70-hom 2437 T/C, the VEGF-1154 G/A, and the VEGF-634 G/C SNPs were genotyped in 101 cases and 80 controls. For the combined analysis of VEGF and HSP70-hom, we found a positive gradient in the odds ratios (ORs) related to the number of high-risk genotypes with a 3.53-fold increase of prostate carcinoma risk (OR = 3.53; p = 0.015). Furthermore, the TAG and CAG haplotypes at positions HSP70-hom, VEGF -1154 and VEGF -634 exhibited a two-fold (OR = 0.46; p = 0.014) and a seven-fold (OR = 0.14; p = 0.00005) reduction in PCa risk, respectively. Regarding PCa prognosis, the TAG haplotype had a negative association with the aggressive phenotype as defined by the histopathological grade (OR = 0.28; p = 0.006). Our findings confirm the role of at-risk haplotype across the HSP70-hom/VEGF gene cluster in determining susceptibility to PCa.

Tumor recurrence in prostatic urethra following simultaneous resection of bladder tumor and prostate: a comparative retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect on the oncological outcomes and recurrences at the prostatic urethra of simultaneous transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (TURP). METHODS: The records of 85 men (group 1) who had undergone simultaneous TURBT and TURP at our clinic between 1986 and 2006 and fulfilled the inclusion criteria were retrospectively analyzed and compared with those of 85 men (group 2) who had undergone TURBT only during the same period. Clinicopathologic parameters, recurrence and progression rates, and recurrence rates in the bladder neck and prostatic urethra were determined and compared. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in clinicopathologic parameters between the 2 groups. At a mean follow-up of 35.2 and 33.1 months in groups 1 and 2, respectively, only 1 patient developed recurrence in prostatic urethra or bladder neck in each group. There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in follow-up time, recurrence, progression or recurrence in the prostatic urethra, and bladder neck. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, simultaneous transurethral TURP and TURBT can be safely performed without increasing the risk of tumor recurrence in the prostatic urethra.

An acute urinary retention in an old man caused by a giant Müllerian duct cyst: a case report.

Müllerian duct cysts result from an abnormality in regression of the Müllerian system. They may occasionally give rise to symptoms. We report an unusual case of acute urinary retention in an old man caused by a giant Müllerian duct cyst. A 77-year-old man presented with of acute urinary retention. After bladder drainage, digital rectal examination found a large soft supraprostatic mass. Transrectal ultrasound and computed tomography scans revealed a large multilocular retrovesical cystic mass. The patient underwent open surgical resection of the cyst. Histologically, the cystic lesion was lined with stratified cubocolumnar cells, consistent with a Müllerian duct cyst. Acute urinary retention in the elderly is not always related to prostatic diseases. Other causes, even congenital ones, may be involved.

Combined effects of the angiogenic genes polymorphisms on prostate cancer susceptibility and aggressiveness.

The single-gene approaches in association studies of polygenic diseases are likely to provide limited value in predicting risk. The combined analysis of genetic variants that interact in the same pathway may amplify the effects of individual polymorphisms and enhance the predictive power. To evaluate higher order gene-gene interaction, we have examined the contribution of four angiogenic gene polymorphisms (VEGF-1154G/A; VEGF-634G/C; MMP9-1562C/T and TSP1-8831A/G) in combination to the risk of prostate cancer. For the combined analysis of VEGF and MMP9 SNPs, we found a significant gene-dosage effect for increasing numbers of potential high-risk genotypes. Compared to referent group (low-risk genotypes), individuals with one (OR = 2.79, P = 0.1), two (OR = 4.57, P = 0.02) and three high-risk genotypes (OR = 7.11, P = 0.01) had increasingly elevated risks of prostate cancer. Similarly, gene-gene interaction of VEGF and TSP1 polymorphisms increased risk of prostate cancer in additive manner (OR = 6.00, P = 0.03), although the TSP1 polymorphism itself was not associated with the risk. In addition, we examined the synergistic effect of these polymorphisms in relation to prostate cancer prognosis according to histopathological grade and clinical stage at diagnosis. Cross-classified analysis revealed potential higher order gene-gene interactions between VEGF and TSP1 polymorphisms in increasing the risk of developing an aggressive phenotype disease. Patients carrying three high-risk genotypes showed a 20-fold increased risk of high-grade tumor (OR = 20.75, P = 0.002). These results suggest that the gene-gene interaction of angiogenic gene polymorphisms' increased risk of prostate cancer onset and aggressiveness.

Gastric metaplasia of posterior urethral polyp: a case report.

Congenital polyps of the posterior urethra are rare lesions, and have often been described in boys. The polyps are benign lesion usually lined by a transitional epithelium, but cases of squamous or intestinal metaplasia have been reported.We report a case of a 10 years old boy referred for hematuria and dysuria.The voiding cysto urethrogram revealed a filling defect in the posterior urethra. At cystourethroscopy, a polyp of the posterior urethra was found and resected transurethrally. Histological examination showed a polyp with a fibro muscular core covered by focal gastric metaplasia with fundic gland. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of gastric metaplasia of urethral polyp.

Association of HSP70-hom genetic variant with prostate cancer risk.

Because of the importance of androgens to prostate cancer (PCa) development, several candidate genes along androgen pathway have been under intensive study. Given the role of the molecular chaperone HSP70 in the regulation of the androgen receptor (AR) transactivation function, we first chose to explore the association between the HSP70-hom functional genetic variant (+2437 T > C) and prostate cancer risk by genotyping DNA samples from 101 unselected PCa patients and 105 healthy men. There was a trend towards lower frequency of TC and CC genotypes among patients when compared with healthy controls, however the difference did not reach the statistical significance (TC genotype: OR = 0.53, P = 0.05; CC genotype: OR = 0.42, P = 0.16). Moreover, individuals carrying at least one C allele have a statistically significant lower susceptibility for PCa (OR = 0.51 (0.26-0.97); P = 0.02). Since some factors may influence tumor progression rather than initiation, we also examined the relationship between the HSP70-hom polymorphism and the clinical characteristics of the malignancy at the time of diagnosis. The stratified analysis of the genotypes with the clinical stage and tumor grade showed that there was no significant difference in the risk estimates according to prognostic indicators of PCa disease in our population study. This is the first report on the studies of HSP70 SNPs in PCa and our data suggest that this genetic variant may be a genetic marker for PCa susceptibility in Tunisians.

TSP1 and MMP9 genetic variants in sporadic prostate cancer.

Angiogenesis plays an important role in the initiation and progression of many malignancies including prostate cancer (PCa). Therefore, genes implicated in angiogenic pathways could be susceptibility candidate genes for this malignancy. In this respect, we investigated the impact of functional genetic variants of TSP1 (N700S) and MMP9 (-1562 C/T) genes on the development and progression of PCa. This case-control study included 101 PCa patients and 106 healthy controls analyzed by polymerase chain reaction -restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. No association was observed between any of the TSP1 genotypes and PCa risk or severity; however, subjects carrying one copy of the MMP9 T allele exhibited threefold higher risk of developing PCa (OR = 2.86; P = 0.004). Regarding prognostic value, a significant association was found between the occurrence of the MMP9 T allele and the high-grade tumor (OR = 3.21; P = 0.004) and the advanced disease (OR = 2.47; P = 0.026). We also analyzed the effect of the combined genotypes on PCa risk. The patients with two high-risk genotypes exhibited 2.8-fold higher risk of developing PCa than those with only low-risk genotypes, but the association was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that MMP9 polymorphism is an independent risk factor of PCa development and aggressiveness.

Association of VEGF genetic polymorphisms with prostate carcinoma risk and clinical outcome.

OBJECTIVES: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent stimulus of angiogenesis that has an important role in many human malignancies including prostate carcinoma (PCa). We evaluated the role of the functional VEGF polymorphisms as genetic markers for PCa susceptibility and prognosis. METHODS: The study included 101 patients with PCa and [corrected] 100 age-matched healthy men. The VEGF genotypes -1154G>A were identified by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) and the genotypes -634G>C and 936C>T were identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR). RESULTS: A negative association was found between VEGF -1154AA genotype and PCa risk (OR=0.27; P=0.009). Furthermore, the presence of the VEGF -1154A allele appeared to be associated with a decreased [corrected] risk of higher tumor grade (OR=0.37; P=0.01). A significant increased risk of prostate cancer was associated with the VEGF -634 (GC+CC) combined genotype (OR=1.95; P=0.02). The VEGF -634C allele was associated with the aggressive phenotype of prostate cancer as defined by the high histological grade (OR=3.48; P=0.007). The VEGF -1154A/-634G haplotype was negatively associated with PCa risk (OR=0.48; P=0.005) and high tumor grade compared to low grade (OR=0.37; P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variations in the VEGF may predict not only PCa risk but also tumor aggressiveness.