Use of surgisis for abdominal wall reconstruction/closure in battlefield casualties during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A case series and discussion based on experiences gained during Operation Iraqi Freedom are presented. The Army previously published an article on the use of Gore-Tex mesh in the staged closure of open abdominal wounds. We thought that use of a biomaterial could shorten the overall course of abdominal closure and improve outcomes.

Comparison between lemonade and potassium citrate and impact on urine pH and 24-hour urine parameters in patients with kidney stone formation.

Objectives: The past few decades have been notable for advances in minimally invasive techniques to treat kidney stones. Despite successful surgical management of calculi, the impact of diet on stone disease prevention remains an important factor. Dietary modifications can be applied to prevent stone recurrence in an economical manner that is acceptable to patients.

Genitourinary trauma at a combat support hospital during Operation Iraqi Freedom: the impact of body armor.

Purpose: This report details the occurrences of genitourinary trauma experienced during Operation Iraqi Freedom at a United States Army Combat Support Hospital, and determines if wearing body armor decreases the frequency of genitourinary and specifically kidney trauma.

Materials And Methods: The Joint Theater Trauma Registry was used to conduct a retrospective study of 2,712 trauma admissions to a United States Army Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq from April 1, 2005 to February 28, 2006. There were 1,216 casualties who were wearing body armor and 1,496 casualties not wearing body armor.

Predictors of extracapsular extension and positive margins in African American and white men.

Objective: Radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) pathology from African American (AA) and White men from 1988 to 1999 was examined to determine if the pre-treatment factors PSA, clinical stage, biopsy grade, age at surgery, and year of surgery (YOS) were predictive of extracapsular extension (ECE) and positive margins for each ethnic group.

Methods: Clinical and pathologic data was collected on 179 AA and 548 white men undergoing RRP from 1988 to 1999 at a tertiary military medical facility. Logistic regression with multivariate analysis was used to determine which pre-operative data-points were predictive of pathologic ECE and positive margins for each ethnic group.

The role of radical prostatectomy in patients with pretreatment prostate-specific antigen > or = 40 ng/mL.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of radical prostatectomy (RP) in men presenting with markedly elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, the records of 17 patients presenting with serum PSA values > or = 40 ng/mL, who underwent RP at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) between 1990 and 1995, were reviewed.

Methods: Pathologic and clinical data (staging, Gleason score, recurrences, adjuvant and neo-adjuvant treatment, most recent PSA value, urinary continence, and sexual function) for each patient was examined. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the disease-free survival (DFS) for PSA and clinical recurrence.

Improved prostate cancer-specific survival and other disease parameters: impact of prostate-specific antigen testing.

Objectives: To determine how the implementation of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing has affected disease-specific survival and other characteristics of prostate cancer.

Methods: Data were collected on all patients with prostate cancer diagnosed between 1988 and 1998 and registered in the Center for Prostate Disease Research Database at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Statistical analyses were used to summarize trends over time in survival, mortality, and clinical stage.