Direct vision internal urethrotomy by using endoscopic scissors.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of direct vision internal urethrotomy (DVIU) by using endoscopic scissors for incision of short (<1 cm) urethral strictures in adult men. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-one patients who had short bulbar urethral strictures were evaluated in this study. Endoscopic scissors was used for incision of urethral strictures in all patients. Retrograde urethrography (RGU) and maximum flow rate(Qmax) <15.0 ml/s by uroflowmetry were used for the definition of recurrences. RESULTS: The procedure was found successful in all patients. The mean size of stricture was 0.73 cm. The mean pre-procedure Qmax was 7.9 ml/s. The mean procedure time was 10.2 min. The mean Qmax was 19.4 ml/s at the third month postoperatively. RGU was normal in all patients at the third month postoperatively. The mean follow-up was 8.1 months. Three (14.2 %) patients underwent second DVIU due to recurrence. No complication was observed during the follow-up except urinary tract infection in two (9.5 %) patients. CONCLUSIONS: DVIU using endoscopic scissors appears to be an effective and safe treatment modality for incision of short urethral strictures in adult men.

Penile length and somatometric parameters: a study in healthy young Turkish men.

The purpose of this study was to determine average penile length and to investigate the relationship between penile length and somatometric parameters in a group of young, healthy Turkish men. A total of 1,132 men were included in the study. The age, height and weight of the subjects were recorded. Penile length was measured in both flaccid and stretched states. The correlation between penile length and somatometric parameters was analysed. The mean age of the subjects was 20.3±0.9 years. The mean penile length in flaccid and stretched states was 9.3±1.3 and 13.7±1.6 cm, respectively (P<0.001). There was a positive correlation between flaccid and stretched penile length (r=0.800, P<0.001). The mean testicular volume was 22.0±2.8 cm(3). A weak positive correlation was detected between penile length and mean testicular volume (r=0.143 for flaccid penile length and r=0.140 for stretched penile length, P<0.001 for both). Similarly, weak positive correlations were found between penile length (both flaccid and stretched) and height, weight and body mass index, respectively (P<0.001, for all). These results demonstrate that somatometric parameters are correlated with penile length. We believe that further studies would provide more information about the causal relationship.

Sildenafil citrate and tamsulosin combination is not superior to monotherapy in treating lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile dysfunction.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of sildenafil citrate only, 25 mg. Four times/week, tamsulosin only, 0.4 mg once daily, and the combination of both on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and erectile dysfunction. METHODS: A total of 60 men with BPH-related LUTS were randomized to receive sildenafil citrate only (n = 20), tamsulosin only (n = 20), and the combination of both (n = 20) for 8 weeks. Changes from baseline in International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Q (max)), post voiding residual urine volume (PRV), Sexual Health Inventory for Male (SHIM) score, 3rd and 4th questions of International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) were assessed at the end of the treatment. RESULTS: The mean age was 58 years. IPSS, Q (max), PRV, SHIM scores, and 3rd and 4th questions in IIEF significantly improved in each group. Improvement of IPSS was more remarkable in combination (40.1%) and tamsulosin only (36.2%) groups in comparison with sildenafil citrate only group (28.2%; p < 0.001). Improvement of Q (max) and PRV were greater in tamsulosin only and combination than sildenafil citrate only group. SHIM scores significantly improved in sildenafil citrate only (65%) and combination (67.4%) than tamsulosin only (12.4%; p < 0.001). Increases in the 3rd and 4th questions of IIEF were greater in sildenafil only and combination than tamsulosin only (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with the combination of tamsulosin only and sildenafil citrate only was not superior to tamsulosin only to enhance voiding symptoms. Also, sexual function improvement was similar for both the combination and sildenafil citrate only treatments.

Effects of short-term dutasteride and Serenoa repens on perioperative bleeding and microvessel density in patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate.

UNLABELLED: OBJECTIVE. To evaluate the effects of short term use of dutasteride and Serenoarepens before transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) on the amount of intraoperative blood loss and microvessel density (MVD) of prostatic stromal and suburethral tissues in the patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study involved 75 male patients who planned to have a TURP. The patients were randomly divided into three groups. The control group comprised 21 patients. Group 2 comprised 27 patients who used dutasteride 5 mg/day, and group 3 comprised 27 patients who used S. repens 160 mg/day for 5 weeks before the operation. The amount of intraoperative haemorrhage was calculated. Total blood loss, total blood loss/time, total blood loss/weight of resected tissue and total blood loss/weight/time were calculated for each patient and all were recorded. Sections from the prostatic stromal and suburethral tissues were examined for suburethral and prostatic MVD. RESULTS: The total amount of intraoperative blood loss, total blood loss/time, total blood loss/weight of resected tissue, total blood loss/weight/time, serum haemoglobin level change, prostatic MVD and suburethral MVD of the groups were compared. No significant statistical differences were found between the groups for any of these variables (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Dutasteride and S. repens therapies were not superior to control in terms of the decrease in total blood loss during TURP. Moreover, MVD showed no statistical differences in the treatment groups compared with the control group.

Long-term follow-up of enuretic alarm treatment in enuresis nocturna.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term success of the enuretic alarm device in patients with monosymptomatic primary nocturnal enuresis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-two patients who had significant monosymptomatic primary nocturnal enuresis were included. They used an enuretic alarm for 3 months. At the end of the treatment, 15 of the patients did not have benefit from the enuretic alarm. Overall, 47 patients benefited from the enuretic alarm. The long-term follow-up was conducted prospectively. RESULTS: The mean age was 9.3 (range 5-16) years and mean follow-up time was 19.2 (range 12-30) months. In the follow-up period, relapse was observed in 46.8% (n = 22/47) of these patients. Twenty-two patients reused the enuretic alarm device for 3 months after relapse occurrence and 13 patients (59%) recovered. Although re-relapse was observed in seven of them in the 6 months, six patients had a full response. In total, 65.9% of the patients (n = 31/47) maintained a full response after enuretic alarm treatment in the long-term follow-up. Thirty-one of the 62 patients underwent combination treatment (enuretic alarm plus medical therapy) for unsuccessful enuretic alarm treatment. The overall full response rate for combination treatment was 16.1%. CONCLUSION: In the long-term follow-up, the enuretic alarm device provided an acceptable full response rate in patients with primary nocturnal enuresis.

The impact of transrectal prostate needle biopsy on sexuality in men and their female partners.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate sexuality in men who have undergone transrectal prostate needle biopsy (TPNB) and their female partners. METHODS: Ninety-seven men underwent TPNB because of high prostate-specific antigen level (>or=2.5 ng/mL) and/or abnormal digital rectal examination findings and their female partners were included in this study. Men were evaluated for erectile function before biopsy, and the first and sixth months after the biopsy with the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). Female partners completed the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) in the same periods together with the men. We assessed IIEF-5 and FSFI score alterations after the biopsies. RESULTS: The mean ages of men and their partners were 61.2 (40 to 81) years and 56.8 (34 to 70) years, respectively. The mean IIEF-5 scores were 19.1 +/- 5.8, 17.1 +/- 5.9, and 16.8 +/- 7.5 before the biopsy, and 1 and 6 months after the biopsy, respectively. We found significant differences among prebiopsy IIEF-5 scores and postbiopsy first- and sixth-month IIEF-5 scores (P <0.001). On the contrary, there was no significant difference between the postbiopsy first- and sixth-month IIEF-5 scores (P = 0.335). In the female partners, the mean prebiopsy, postbiopsy first- and sixth-month total FSFI scores were 18.0 +/- 6.8, 16.2 +/- 6.8, and 16.0 +/- 8.4, respectively (P <0.001). In first- and sixth-month postbiopsies, all FSFI subscores were significantly lower than the prebiopsy subscores. CONCLUSIONS: TPNB seems to have negative impact on erectile function. Male sexual dysfunction after TPNB also has a negative effect on female sexual function. We believe that couples should be informed about the risk of erectile dysfuncton before TPNB.

Is the pain level of patients affected by anxiety during transrectal prostate needle biopsy?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of anxiety on the pain level of patients during transrectal prostate needle biopsy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 160 consecutive patients underwent prostate biopsy. Group 1 consisted of 86 patients who received bilateral periprostatic infiltration of 5 cm(3) of 2% lidocaine. Group 2 included 74 patients and they received bilateral periprostatic infiltration of 5 cm(3) of 0.9% saline solution. The Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered before the biopsy. The patients' mean pain scores were assessed by means of a visual analog scale (VAS) during digital rectal examination, probe insertion and biopsy. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 67.8 years (range 46-79 years). When the two groups were compared regarding the level of pain during DRE and probe insertion, no significant differences were found. The mean VAS score for biopsy was significantly lower in Group 1. In Group 1, the mean VAS scores were similar in patients with no and moderate trait anxiety levels. However, the mean VAS score was significantly higher in patients who had severe trait anxiety than in the others (p=0.002). In Group 2, the differences in VAS scores reached statistical significance between no and moderate, no and severe, and moderate and severe trait anxiety levels (p=0.001). When the state anxiety levels were considered, the mean VAS scores were significantly higher in patients with severe state anxiety scores in Groups 1 and 2 (p=0.003 and 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: We found a significant relationship between trait and state anxiety levels and pain scores in patients who underwent transrectal prostate needle biopsy.

Fournier's gangrene: Three years of experience with 20 patients and validity of the Fournier's Gangrene Severity Index Score.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate effective factors in the survival of patients with Fournier's gangrene (FG) and to determine the validity of the Fournier's Gangrene Severity Index (FGSI), which was designed for determining disease severity in these patients. METHODS: The study included 20 men with a median age of 63.5 yr treated for FG between July 2002 and June 2005. The data were evaluated about medical history, symptoms, physical examination findings, vital signs, admission and final laboratory tests, timing and extent of surgical debridement, and antibiotic treatment used. All the patients had radical surgical debridement. The FGSI, which was developed to assign a numerical score that describes the acuity of the disease, was used in our study. This index presents patients' vital signs (temperature, heart and respiratory rates) and metabolic parameters (sodium, potassium, creatinine, and bicarbonate levels, hematocrit, white blood cell count) and computes a score relating to the severity of the disease at that time. The data were assessed according to whether the patient survived or died. RESULTS: Of the evaluated 20 patients, 6 died (30%) and 14 survived (70%). The difference in age between survivors (median age, 60.0 yr) and those who died (median age, 64.5 yr) was not significant (p = 0.321). The median extent of the body surface area involved in the necrotizing process in patients who survived and did not survive was 2.3% and 4.8%, respectively (p = 0.001). Except for the albumin and alkaline phosphatase levels, no significant differences were found between survivors and who those died in the other admission laboratory parameters. The median admission FGSI scores for survivors and nonsurvivors were 2.0+/-2.2 and 4.0+/-3.7, respectively (p = 0.331). CONCLUSIONS: The FGSI score did not predict the disease severity and the patient's survival. Metabolic parameters, predisposing factors, and extent of the disease seemed to be important risk factors for predicting FG severity and whether or not a patient survived.