Neuroanatomy of the female continence complex: clinical implications.

Objectives: Improved understanding of pelvic neuroanatomy in women has led to modified surgical approaches and additional considerations in pelvic surgery. The innervation of the external urinary sphincter and urethra is not well defined in women, and, as such, the continence complex is not well understood.

Methods: Fourteen pelvic sections from seven fresh female cadavers were dissected to investigate the neuroanatomy of the female continence complex.

Neuroanatomy of the pelvis: implications for colonic and rectal resection.

Purpose: Urinary dysfunction remains a common complication of radical pelvic surgery, particularly after abdominoperineal resection. In treating rectal carcinoma, the extent of primary resection and lymphadenectomy are major determinants in the degree of postoperative urologic morbidity.

Methods: Twelve male and eight female hemipelves from fresh cadavers were dissected with reference to the neuroanatomy of the lower genitourinary tract.

The prostate anesthetic block for outpatient prostate surgery.

With the emergence of minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia and the need to reduce health care costs, a simple and effective prostate anesthetic block may allow more procedures to be done in an outpatient or office setting. As based on neuroanatomy studies of the prostate, the perineal approach appeared to be the best way to anesthetize the prostate. This technique was used in 43 patients who underwent interstitial laser coagulation an outpatient or office setting.

Effect of prostate biopsy on the results of the PSA RT-PCR test.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of prostate biopsy on the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.

Methods: Ninety men who were scheduled to undergo prostate biopsy because of an elevated PSA or abnormal digital rectal examination, or both, were recruited to have PSA RT-PCR performed on peripheral blood samples drawn before and at 30 minutes, 1 week, and 1 month after undergoing prostate biopsy. PSA RT-PCR was performed and all PCR products were blotted and hybridized with phosphorus-32 (32-P)-PSA cDNA probe (exon 3 to 5).

Interval appendectomy for perforated appendicitis in children.

To determine the efficacy, safety, and cost of managing perforated appendicitis with intravenous antibiotics followed by an interval appendectomy, the charts of 87 children with ruptured appendicitis were retrospectively reviewed. These patients were treated with intravenous fluid resuscitation and antibiotics (consisting of clindamycin and ceftazidime) and underwent appendectomy, either on that admission (n = 46) or as a delayed interval procedure (n = 41). Antibiotics in all cases were discontinued either at home or in the hospital after the child was a febrile for 48 hours with normal white and differential blood cell counts, and the two groups were compared.

Preservation of putative continence nerves during radical retropubic prostatectomy leads to more rapid return of urinary continence.

Objectives: Urinary incontinence is a significant complication of radical pelvic surgery. A better understanding of the neuroanatomy of the rhabdosphincter has led to the modification of the radical retropubic prostatectomy to optimize the recovery of postoperative urinary control.

Methods: Mock radical retropubic prostatectomy was performed on fresh cadavers to determine which surgical maneuvers could injure what may be the continence nerves.

Fournier's gangrene: therapeutic impact of hyperbaric oxygen.

Many controversial issues exist surrounding the disease pathogenesis and optimal management of Fournier's gangrene. In Fournier's original descriptions, the disease arose in healthy subjects without an obvious cause. Most contemporary studies, however, are able to identify definite urologic or colorectal etiologies in a majority of cases.

Neuroanatomy of the male rhabdosphincter.

Objectives: The external striated urethral sphincter (rhabdosphincter) is a tubular muscle sleeve that extends from the prostato-membranous urethra and perineal membrane to the bladder neck. The male rhabdosphincter neuroanatomy remains unclear, and a better understanding of its innervation may provide insight into potential modifications of radical pelvic surgery to improve urinary continence.

Methods: Fresh cadaveric dissections of 12 male hemipelves were undertaken to investigate the neuroanatomy of the urinary rhabdosphincter.

Can prostate-specific antigen reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction be used as a prospective test to diagnose prostate cancer?

The present study addressed the question as to whether prostate-specific antigen reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PSA RT-PCR) could be used to identify prospectively men who have prostate cancer and to help determine which patients with an initially negative biopsy would benefit from rebiopsy. PSA RT-PCR was performed prospectively on 90 patients who were to have a prostate biopsy because of an elevated PSA level, an abnormal digital rectal examination, or both. PSA RT-PCR was performed, and the sensitivity of the test was enhanced by hybridization of the PCR with a 32P-labeled PSA cDNA probe (exons 3-5).

Tracheal hamartoma: report of a child with a neck mass.

Tracheal hamartoma represents an oddity in children. Only one case was found in the English literature as a distal tracheal intraluminal lesion causing obstructive symptoms. All other reported cases were in older patients, who were presumed to have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Cryosurgical ablation of the prostate for localized adenocarcinoma: a preliminary experience.

Purpose: Cryosurgical ablation of the prostate has recently become recognized as a therapeutic option in the treatment of localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate. To assess the efficacy of cryoablation in this disease process several centers have instituted treatment protocols.

Materials And Methods: Our overall series includes 117 ultrasound guided percutaneous transperineal cryoablations performed on 104 patients with localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate.

Endoscopic laser ablation of obstructing congenital duodenal webs in the newborn: a case report of limited success with criteria for patient selection.

Standard approaches to intrinsic obstructing duodenal lesions in the newborn include laparotomy with enteroenterostomy, bypassing the obstruction, or duoduodenotomy with excision. The advent of improved pediatric flexible fiberoptic endoscopes and fiberoptic laser technology makes endoscopic ablation of duodenal webs and windsocks in the newborn possible.

Is there a role for laparoscopic appendectomy in pediatric surgery?

Although laparoscopic procedures are currently in vogue in general surgery, the role of this approach in children has not been prospectively evaluated in the United States using the new instrumentation now available to us. To assess the value of laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) in childhood, we prospectively compared 14 LAs with 50 open appendectomies (OA) over 6 months in a single children's hospital. Antibiotic usage was at the discretion of the surgeon regardless of the procedure performed and was not different between groups.

The effect of tube gastrostomy on gastroesophageal reflux in patients with esophageal atresia.

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) occurs frequently in infants with esophageal atresia (EA). The definitive management is primary repair and often includes tube gastrostomy. The recent finding of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure changes with tube gastrostomy suggests that GER might be related to gastrostomy rather than EA per se.

Preduodenal portal vein: surgery and radiographic appearance.

Preduodenal portal vein is rare, with 63 cases reported in the literature. In general, this anomaly occurs in children with associated small bowel obstruction. We report a newborn infant who presented with duodenal stenosis, mongolism, and preduodenal portal vein.

Persistent müllerian duct syndrome.

Persistent müllerian syndrome is rare. A case of phenotypically normal male with persistent müllerian structures that consisted of a bicornuate uterus, fallopian tubes, and upper third of the vagina is reported. These unusual structures were found in association with bilateral cryptorchidism and a right inguinal hernia, and were diagnosed while repairing the hernia in the neonatal period.

Mediastinal mass and radiolucent esophageal foreign body.

The diagnosis of radiolucent esophageal foreign bodies can be difficult, particularly in patients with predominant respiratory symptoms. The consequences of the impaction of a foreign body in the esophagus are serious, and esophageal stenosis, perforation, acquired tracheoesophageal fistulas are among the complications already reported. An unusual complication of a nondiagnosed radiolucent plastic coin that remained impacted for 11 months on the posterior esophageal wall of a 20-month-old child, who presented only with respiratory symptoms, is reported.

Gangrenous acalculous cholecystitis in a premature infant.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis is uncommon, although children are more likely to have this condition than adults. A 1,100-g premature baby girl with a gangrenous acalculous cholecystitis is reported. She presented with clinical and radiographic findings that were initially interpreted as necrotizing enterocolitis.

Management of the brown recluse spider bite.

The objectives in the treatment of the brown recluse spider bite are to prevent skin necrosis and the need for reconstructive surgery. A simple technique that consists of curetting the subcutaneous tissue in the necrotic area of the lesion, to prevent the local destructive actions of the toxin, is described. From 1981 to 1987, 18 patients were treated with this technique.

The continued value of angiography in planning surgical resection of benign and malignant hepatic tumors in children.

We assessed the accuracy of angiography or digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in diagnosing malignancy in hepatic tumors in children. In addition, these results were correlated with sonographic and computed tomographic findings of the liver in selected patients. Twenty-seven patients with primary liver tumors were examined with celiac or selective hepatic arteriography.

Venous aneurysm.

A 19-month-old girl had a congenital aneurysm of the neck vein. We attribute the pathogenesis of venous aneurysm to a defective vascular wall. The treatment of choice is simple surgical excision.

Presinusoidal extrahepatic portal hypertension: a review of thirty-five cases variously treated.

Thirty-five cases of proven preinusoidal extrahepatic portal hypertension in children have been reviewed with particular reference to etiology, clinical course, therapy, and long-term follow up results. Thirty-three patients has significant gastrointestinal bleeding and 31 were operated upon. There were no operative deaths.