Recent advances in managing chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a common disorder seen in men under the age of 50 and has a considerable negative impact on quality of life; it is a complex and difficult condition to treat, owing to its wide symptomatology. In order to effectively treat this condition, the UPOINT system was developed: it allows clinical profiling of a patient's symptoms into six broad categories (urinary symptoms, psychological dysfunction, organ-specific symptoms, infectious causes, neurologic dysfunction, and tenderness of the pelvic floor muscles) to allow individualized and multimodal therapy. In this review, we present the most recent advancements in the treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome from the past few years.

Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction by a Long Intraluminal Polyp and a Concurrent Crossing Vein in a Symptomatic 8-Year-old Child.

Ureteropelvic junction obstruction due to intrinsic causes is often diagnosed antenatally during routine ultrasonography. Cases of extrinsic obstruction often present later and symptomatically, during childhood. We describe the rare case of an 8-year-old boy with a 2-day history of severe left flank pain, no fevers, and Society of Fetal Urology grade 3 hydronephrosis on ultrasonography. Laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty revealed a left ureteropelvic junction obstruction secondary to a large fibroepithelial polyp in the proximal ureter with a concomitant anterior crossing vein. We also provide a focused review of the pertinent published literature.

Laparoscopic management of advanced renal cell carcinoma with renal vein and inferior vena cava thrombus.

OBJECTIVE: To report the results and oncological efficacy of laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) in patients with renal cell carcinoma with renal vein and inferior vena cava thrombus. METHODS: We performed retrospective record review of 41 patients who underwent LRN along with venous thrombectomy at 2 Canadian centers from 2002 to 2012 by dedicated laparoscopic surgeons. RESULTS: The mean age and body mass index of the 41 study patients (34 males and 7 female) were 64.4 years and 28.7 kg/m(2), respectively. Median tumor size was 9.3 cm; 39 patients had renal vein thrombus, and 2 had inferior vena cava thrombus. Nine patients (22%) had metastatic disease to begin with and underwent laparoscopic cytoreductive nephrectomy. Median estimated blood loss, operative time, and length of stay were 100 mL (range, 50-400 mL), 134.5 minutes (range, 99-183 minutes), and 4 days (range, 4-6 days), respectively. There were 4 (9.7%) grade 2 complications. There was no intraoperative death. Mean duration of follow-up was 42 months (range, 6-107 months). Of 32 patients with localized disease, 4 (12.5%) died of progressive disease, 3 (9.3%) died of unrelated causes, and 3 patients (9.3%) were lost to follow-up. Twenty-two patients (68.7%) were alive at a mean follow-up of 47 months. CONCLUSION: LRN and venous thrombectomy for advanced renal tumors with venous thrombus are safe procedures in experienced hands with significant laparoscopic skills. The short-term oncological data are encouraging and advocate the efficacy of this procedure in this subset of patients, although longer follow-up is required in larger number of patients to further define its role.

Does transperitoneal minimally invasive radical prostatectomy increase the amount of small bowel receiving salvage radiation?

INTRODUCTION: Transperitoneal minimally invasive radical prostatectomy (MIRP) has become first choice for several urologists and patients dealing with localized prostate cancer. We evaluate the effect of postoperative radiation on the small bowel in patients who underwent extraperitoneal open versus transperitoneal MIRP. METHODS: We reviewed all patients who received postoperative radiation from 2006 to 2010. Planning target volume (PTV) and surrounding organs, including the small bowel, were delineated. The presence of the small bowel in PTV and its volume in receiving each dose level were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 122 patients were included: 26 underwent MIRP and 96 underwent open prostatectomy. The median age of patients was 66 years, with median body mass index 27 kg/m(2). The total PTV dose was 66 Gy, with the minimum and maximum doses received by the small bowel 0.4 and 66.4 Gy, respectively. The maximum volume of small bowel that received the safe limit of 40 Gy was 569 cm(3). Of the 26 patients who underwent MIRP, 12 (46%) had small bowel identified inside the PTV compared to 57 (59%) among patients who underwent open prostatectomy (p = 0.228). The mean volume of the small bowel receiving 40 Gy was 26 and 67 cm(3) in open and MIRP groups, respectively (p = 0.006); the incidence of acute complications was the same in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Higher volumes of the small bowel are subjected to significant radiation after MIRP procedures compared to open procedures; however, we could not demonstrate any impact on acute complications. Whether there is a difference in late complications remains to be evaluated.

Finasteride-induced secondary infertility associated with sperm DNA damage.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of low-dose finasteride-induced secondary infertility with associated elevated sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and otherwise normal semen parameters. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENT(S): A 48-year-old man on low-dose finasteride and his 37-year-old wife with normal menses and normal gynecologic exam. INTERVENTION(S): Determination of sperm DFI and discontinuation of low-dose finasteride. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Sperm DFI. RESULT(S): The sperm DFI done a year earlier was 30%. This value was unchanged when repeated 2 months later. The patient was advised to stop finasteride. Three months after discontinuing the finasteride, the DFI decreased to 21% and subsequent DFI after another 3 months improved to 16.5%. To date, there is still no documented full-term pregnancy or live birth. CONCLUSION(S): The significant reduction in DFI within 3 months of finasteride cessation and continued improvement suggests a causal link between finasteride and sperm DNA damage. We hypothesize that low-dose finasteride may exert a negative influence on sperm DNA integrity, resulting in increased pregnancy losses. We suggest that in infertile men using finasteride, sperm DFI should be measured in addition to semen parameters, and a trial of discontinuation of finasteride may be warranted.