Improved continence in patients with neurogenic sphincteric incompetence with combination tubularized posterior urethroplasty and fascial wrap: the lengthening, narrowing and tightening procedure.

Purpose: We evaluated the outcome in 19 patients who underwent bladder neck reconstruction by lengthening, narrowing and tightening the bladder neck with a combined tubularized posterior urethroplasty and circumferential fascial wrap.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed the records of all patients who underwent bladder neck lengthening, narrowing and tightening between April 1996 and November 2002. Preoperative urodynamic and radiographic data were available on all patients.

Outcomes of bladder neck closure for intractable urinary incontinence in patients with neurogenic bladders.

Objective: Recent reports of outcomes of bladder neck closure for neurogenic urinary incontinence reveal poor initial continence and high vesicourethral fistula rates. We evaluated a large series of patients who underwent complete transection and closure of the bladder neck with modified abdominal stoma creation.

Materials And Methods: The medical records of 52 consecutive patients (23 males and 29 females) undergoing bladder neck closure by a single surgeon between July 1996 and January 2003 were reviewed.

Paraneoplastic syndromes in urologic malignancy: the many faces of renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma is unique among the genitourinary malignancies in that close to one third of affected patients show signs and symptoms of a paraneoplastic syndrome. The paraneoplastic syndromes associated with renal cell carcinoma range from those manifesting in constitutional symptoms (ie, fever, cachexia, and weight loss) to those that result in specific metabolic and biochemical abnormalities (ie, hypercalcemia, nonmetastatic hepatic dysfunction, amyloidosis, etc). The presence of a paraneoplastic syndrome in a patient with renal cell carcinoma is neither a marker of metastatic disease nor necessarily indicative of a poor prognosis.

The effects of intentional cryoablation and radio frequency ablation of renal tissue involving the collecting system in a porcine model.

Purpose: Ablative techniques for the treatment of urological malignancy are gaining acceptance and they are likely to become more widely used in clinical practice. Indications and limitations of the technologies are still evolving. In a porcine model we evaluated the safety and efficacy of cryotherapy and radio frequency ablation (RFA) of cortical and deep renal tissue.

Treatment of renal transplant ureterovesical anastomotic strictures using antegrade balloon dilation with or without holmium:YAG laser endoureterotomy.

Objectives: To report our results after antegrade endoscopic treatment of ureteral stenosis with balloon dilation with or without holmium laser endoureterotomy. Ureteral stenosis is the most common long-term urologic complication of renal transplantation.

Methods: From July 2000 to October 2002, 9 renal transplant patients with ureteral obstruction diagnosed by an increase in serum creatinine and radiologic evidence presented for endoscopic treatment.

Quality of life, pain and return to normal activities following laparoscopic donor nephrectomy versus open mini-incision donor nephrectomy.

Purpose: We evaluated pain, convalescence and health related quality of life in patients undergoing laparoscopic and open mini-incision donor nephrectomy.

Materials And Methods: We compared the records of consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic and mini-incision open donor nephrectomy from our donor nephrectomy data base in retrospective fashion using 2 questionnaires. The first questionnaire evaluated postoperative pain, return to functioning time and satisfaction.