Real-life data on long-term follow-up of patients successfully treated with percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation.

Background: The aim of this cross-sectional study is to evaluate the "real-life" data of patients following successful treatment with PTNS for overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) or non-obstructive voiding dysfunction (NOVD) at a seven-year follow-up after the procedure.

Methods: Patients who were successfully treated with PTNS for OAB or NOVD between February 2008 and January 2009 were contacted for a telephonic interview seven years after the end of their PTNS stimulation protocol. Patients who agreed to the interview were asked to complete a global response assessment (GRA).

Joint consensus on anesthesia in urologic and gynecologic robotic surgery: specific issues in management from a task force of the SIAARTI, SIGO, and SIU.

Introduction: Proper management of patients undergoing robotic-assisted urologic and gynecologic surgery must consider a series of peculiarities in the procedures for anesthesiology, critical care medicine, respiratory care, and pain management. Although the indications for robotic-assisted urogynecologic surgeries have increased in recent years, specific guidance documents are still lacking.

Evidence Acquisition: A multidisciplinary group including anesthesiologists, gynecologists, urologists, and a clinical epidemiologist systematically reviewed the relevant literature and provided a set of recommendations and unmet needs on peculiar aspects of anesthesia in this field.

Endoscopic Intravesical Fibrin Glue Application in the Treatment of Refractory Hemorrhagic Radiation Cystitis: A Single Cohort Pilot Study.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of endoscopic fibrin glue (FG) application therapy in treating hemorrhagic radiation cystitis (HRC).

Patients And Methods: This is a single-cohort, prospective pilot study. We collected data from patients with HRC who were treated at our urology unit from May 2014 to December 2016.

Serenoa repens + selenium + lycopene vs tadalafil 5 mg for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic obstruction: a Phase IV, non-inferiority, open-label, clinical study (SPRITE study).

Objective: To compare in a randomised, open-label, non-inferiority clinical study, the efficacy and tolerability of Serenoa repens (SeR) + selenium (Se) + lycopene (Ly) (SeR-Se-Ly) therapy vs tadalafil 5 mg in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

Patients And Methods: From May 2015 to January 2017, 427 patients were enrolled in 21 different centres (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register [ISRCTN] 73316039). Inclusion criteria included: age between 50 and 80 years, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) ≥12, maximum urinary flow rate (Q ) ≤ 15 mL/s, and post-void residual (PVR) <100 mL.

Risk factors for benign prostatic enlargement: The role of lifestyle habits at younger age. The #Controllati2017 initiative study group.

Objective: The risk factors for benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) are not well understood and particularly few data are available from Italian population.

Materials And Methods: This was an observational cross sectional study aimed to examine the association between several risk factors and BPE. During the "#Controllati2017" initiative, men aged 18 years or more were invited to attend participating urologic centers for a free of charge visit for counseling about urologic or andrologic conditions.

Association between selenium and lycopene supplementation and incidence of prostate cancer: Results from the post-hoc analysis of the procomb trial.

Background: Many potential chemopreventive agents have been used in PCa prevention, including selenium (Se) and lycopene (Ly). However, their role has been matter of debate over the years, due to potential of promotion of PCa.

Purpose: In this study we aimed at evaluating the incidence risk of prostate cancer (PCa) in a cohort of patients treated with Se and Ly.

Partial renal resection by LaparoNewPro: in vivo open and laparoscopic study in an animal model.

Introduction: The aim of this research project was to test an incremental bipolar radiofrequency generator with open and laparoscopic inline electrode probe for partial renal resection without vascular clamping.

Material And Methods: Sixteen polar resections with clamping and six without were performed in four pigs in the acute phase. Three pigs underwent laparoscopic polar resection and were live housed for ten days and reoperated to verify the presence of hematic and urinary collection and the condition of the renal edge.

Microsurgical tunica albuginea transplantation in an animal model.

Several andrological diseases require surgical repair or reconstruction of tunica albuginea, which envelops the corpora cavernosa penis. Despite intense research efforts involving a variety of biological materials, such as skin, muscle aponeurosis, human dura mater, tunica vaginalis, and pericardium, engineered tunica albuginea suitable for graft use is yet to be obtained. The study investigates microsurgical tunica albuginea allotransplantation in an animal model with the purpose of creation of an organ-specific tissue bank to store penile tissue, from cadaveric donors and male-to-female trans-sexual surgery, for allogeneic transplantation.

Ellagic Acid Inhibits Bladder Cancer Invasiveness and In Vivo Tumor Growth.

Ellagic acid (EA) is a polyphenolic compound that can be found as a naturally occurring hydrolysis product of ellagitannins in pomegranates, berries, grapes, green tea and nuts. Previous studies have reported the antitumor properties of EA mainly using in vitro models. No data are available about EA influence on bladder cancer cell invasion of the extracellular matrix triggered by vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), an angiogenic factor associated with disease progression and recurrence, and tumor growth in vivo.

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease and Osteoporosis During Androgen Deprivation Therapy Prescription Discordant to EAU Guidelines: Results From a Multicenter, Cross-sectional Analysis From the CHOsIng Treatment for Prostate canCEr (CHOICE) Study.

Objective: To analyze the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and osteoporosis in patients treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer (PCa) but not adherent to European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines.

Materials And Methods: The CHOosIng Treatment for Prostate CanCEr (CHOICE) study was an Italian multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted from December 2010 to January 2012. A total of 1386 patients treated with ADT for PCa (first prescription or renewal of ADT) were selected.

Sexual outcomes after partial penectomy for penile cancer: results from a multi-institutional study.

Penile cancer is an uncommon malignancy. Surgical treatment is inevitably mutilating. Considering the strong impact on patients' sexual life we want to evaluate sexual function and satisfaction after partial penectomy.

Retzius-sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: Critical appraisal of the anatomic landmarks for a complete intrafascial approach.

To provide an overview of the anatomical landmarks needed to guide a retropubic (Retzius)-sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP), and a step-by-step description of the surgical technique that maximizes preservation of the periprostatic neural network. The anatomy of the pelvic fossae is presented, including the recto-vesical pouch (pouch of Douglas) created by the reflections of the peritoneum. The actual technique of the trans-Douglas, intrafascial nerve-sparing robotic radical prostatectomy is described.

Dietary treatment of urinary risk factors for renal stone formation. A review of CLU Working Group.

Objective: Diet interventions may reduce the risk of urinary stone formation and its recurrence, but there is no conclusive consensus in the literature regarding the effectiveness of dietary interventions and recommendations about specific diets for patients with urinary calculi. The aim of this study was to review the studies reporting the effects of different dietary interventions for the modification of urinary risk factors in patients with urinary stone disease.

Materials And Methods: A systematic search of the Pubmed database literature up to July 1, 2014 for studies on dietary treatment of urinary risk factors for urinary stone formation was conducted according to a methodology developed a priori.

Prevalence of "complicated" stress urinary incontinence in female patients: can urodynamics provide more information in such patients?

Introduction And Hypothesis: The role of urodynamic investigation has been recently questioned on the basis of data from a selected population of patients with stress urinary incontinence defined as uncomplicated. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of patients who underwent urodynamic investigation in our centre in whom the stress urinary incontinence could be defined as uncomplicated. The secondary aim was to assess the number of women in whom the urodynamic investigation added information to the preurodynamic assessment.

3D vs 2D laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in organ-confined prostate cancer: comparison of operative data and pentafecta rates: a single cohort study.

Background: Currently, men are younger at the time of diagnosis of prostate cancer and more interested in less invasive surgical approaches (traditional laparoscopy, 3D-laparoscopy, robotics). Outcomes of continence, erectile function, cancer cure, positive surgical margins and complication are well collected in the pentafecta rate. However, no comparative studies between 4th generation 3D-HD vision system laparoscopy and standard bi-dimensional laparoscopy have been reported.

Correlation between penile cuff test and pressure-flow study in patients candidates for trans-urethral resection of prostate.

Background: Aim of this study was to make a comparison between penile cuff test (PCT) and standard pressure-flow study (PFS) in the preoperative evaluation of patients candidates for trans-urethral resection of prostate (TURP) for benign prostatic obstruction (BPO).

Methods: We enrolled male patients with lower urinary tract symptoms candidates for TURP. Each of them underwent a PCT and a subsequent PFS.

Nosocomial urinary tract infections: A review.

Nosocomial urinary tract infections are a common complication in healthcare systems worldwide. A review of the literature was performed in June 2014 using the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) database, through either PubMed or Ovid as a search engine, to identify publications regarding nosocomial urinary tract infections (NUTIs) definition, epidemiology, etiology and treatment.According to current definitions, more than 30% of nosocomial infections are urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Acute kidney injury due to bilateral ureteral obstruction in children.

Bilateral ureteral obstruction in children is a rare condition arising from several medical or surgical pictures. It needs to be promptly suspected in order to attempt a quick renal function recovery. In this paper we concentrated on uncommon causes of obstruction, with the aim of giving a summary of such multiple, rare and heterogeneous conditions joint together by the common denominator of sudden bilateral ureteral obstruction, difficult to be suspected at times.

Robotic radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review.

Background: Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) is the actual gold-standard for the treatment of clinically localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (cT1-2 with no indications for nephron-sparing surgery). Limited evidence is currently available on the role of robotics in the field of radical nephrectomy. The aim of the current study was to provide a systematic review of the current evidence on the role of robotic radical nephrectomy (RRN) and to analyze the comparative studies between RRN and open nephrectomy (ON)/LRN.

The role of intrinsic pathway in apoptosis activation and progression in Peyronie's disease.

Peyronie's disease (PD) is characterized with formation of fibrous plaques which result in penile deformity, pain, and erectile dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in plaques from PD patients. Tunica albuginea from either PD or control patients was assessed for the expression of bax, bcl-2 and caspases 9 and 3 using immunohistochemistry and by measurement of apoptotic cells using TUNEL assay.

Serenoa repens, lycopene and selenium versus tamsulosin for the treatment of LUTS/BPH. An Italian multicenter double-blinded randomized study between single or combination therapy (PROCOMB trial).

Background: Phytotherapy has been used to treat patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of combination therapy between Serenoa Repens (SeR), Lycopene (Ly), and Selenium (Se) + tamsulosin versus single therapies.

Methods: PROCOMB trial (ISRCTN78639965) was a randomized double-blinded, double-dummy multicenter study of 225 patients between 55 and 80 years old, PSA ≤ 4 ng/ml, IPSS ≥12, prostate volume ≤60 cc, Qmax ≤15 ml/sec, postvoid residual urine (PVR) <150 ml.

Alga Ecklonia bicyclis, Tribulus terrestris, and glucosamine oligosaccharide improve erectile function, sexual quality of life, and ejaculation function in patients with moderate mild-moderate erectile dysfunction: a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blinded study.

We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of oral therapy with alga Ecklonia bicyclis, Tribulus terrestris, and glucosamine oligosaccharide (Tradamix TX1000) in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) at 3 months of follow-up. From January 2013 to September 2013, 177 patients diagnosed with mild-moderate ED (IIEF-EF < 26) were enrolled in this multicenter, single-blinded, placebo-controlled study and randomized in Group A (Tradamix, n = 87) and Group B (placebo, n = 90). Penile color Doppler ultrasound measures, IIEF-15 questionnaire, male sexual health questionnaire-ejaculation disorder (MSHQ-EjD), and sexual quality of life (SQoL-M) were collected.

Laparoscopic pretransplant nephrectomy with morcellation in autosomic-dominant polycystic kidney disease patients with end-stage renal disease.

Background: Laparoscopic nephrectomy (LN) in end-stage autosomic-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) requires a large abdominal incision for the specimen extraction.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe our technique of LN for end-stage ADPKD followed by morcellation (LNM) of the specimen and extraction through a minimal abdominal incision.

Methods: The medical records of 19 consecutive patients who underwent pretransplant LNM between 2008 and 2011 by a single experienced laparoscopic surgeon were analyzed.