Staged treatment for substantial bilateral calcium carbonate nephrolithiasis in vegan patient.

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3), or calcite, stones average 0.15% of annual nephrolithiasis cases. The authors report a 53 year old female, following a 15 year vegan diet, presenting with left flank pain and later found to have bilateral extensive staghorn renal calculi requiring multiple procedures over the course of months.

Does Reduced Renal Function Predispose to Cancer-specific Mortality from Renal Cell Carcinoma?

Background: Recent publications have reported an association between increased renal cancer-specific mortality (CSM) and reduced renal function "below safety limits," and advocated for partial nephrectomy (PN) even for potentially aggressive/complex tumors. We hypothesize that this association may be related to confounding factors rather than a consequence of functional differences.

Objective: To assess whether there is an independent association between preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or new baseline eGFR (NB-GFR) and CSM in patients undergoing PN or radical nephrectomy (RN).

Partial Nephrectomy for Patients with Severe Chronic Kidney Disease-Is It Worthwhile?

Purpose: Partial nephrectomy is prioritized over radical nephrectomy in patients with chronic kidney disease whenever feasible. However, we hypothesized that some patients with severe chronic kidney disease might rapidly progress to end stage renal disease, in which case the morbidity that can be associated with partial nephrectomy would not be justified.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review of all 62 patients with stage IV chronic kidney disease undergoing partial nephrectomy at our institution (1999-2015) was performed.

Split renal function in patients with renal masses: utility of parenchymal volume analysis vs nuclear renal scans.

Objectives: To evaluate the utility of parenchymal volume analysis (PVA) for estimation of split renal function (SRF) in patients with renal masses. SRF is important for deciding about partial vs radical nephrectomy (PN/RN) and assessing risk for developing severe chronic kidney disease after surgery. For renal donors PVA is routinely used to estimate SRF, but the utility of PVA for the more complex renal mass population remains undefined.

Palpable Penile Metastases: A Bizarre Presentation of Rectal Adenocarcinoma.

Metastasis to the penis is an uncommon occurrence, with only about 370 cases reported in the literature to date. The majority of the primary tumors are genitourinary in origin. We report on a patient with undiagnosed disseminated rectal adenocarcinoma, who first presented with lesions of the corporal bodies.