Publications by authors named "Kai-wen Chuang"

Background: Patients with neurogenic bladder are at risk of developing renal deterioration secondary to increased intravesical pressures. To date, urodynamics is the gold standard test to properly assess bladder dynamics. Home bladder manometry is a low-cost and simple method to evaluate bladder pressures and volumes during clean intermittent catheterization (CIC).

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Article Synopsis
  • Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is a common type of immune-related hair loss with conflicting reports on its link to other health conditions.
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving over 7,500 LPP patients found no significant connections between LPP and major cardiovascular or metabolic disorders like hypertension, diabetes, or obesity.
  • The study concludes that LPP does not appear to significantly increase the risk for these disorders, despite some variability in the research analyzed.
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Background: Patients with high grade hydronephrosis (HN) and non-obstructive drainage on mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG-3) diuretic renography (renal scans) can pose a dilemma for clinicians. Some patients may progress and require pyeloplasty; however, more clarity is needed on outcomes among these patients.

Objective: Our primary objective was to predict which patients with high-grade HN and non-obstructive renal scan, (defined as T ½ time <20 min) would experience resolution of HN.

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  • Ureteral reimplantation for infants with primary obstructive megaureter (POM) is difficult, and the study investigates whether high pressure balloon dilation (HPBD) can be an effective treatment or a temporary solution.
  • The study reviewed patients under one year of age who underwent HPBD, excluding those with certain conditions or prior surgeries, and focused on outcomes like megaureter resolution and reimplantation rates.
  • Results showed that 80% of infants benefited from HPBD, with significant improvement in ureter size and hydronephrosis, while 20% required further surgery due to persistent issues.
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Objective: To compare the surgical outcomes and complications of boys who underwent double-face onlay-tube-onlay transverse preputial island flap (DFOTO) one-stage repair vs. two-stage repair for proximal hypospadias.

Study Design: Males with proximal hypospadias who underwent DFOTO or two-stage repair at a single institution from 2008 to 2021 were identified.

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In this study, a water transfer method was developed to fabricate conducive thin-film patterns on 3D curvilinear surfaces. Crystalline silver nanoplates (AgNPLs) with a dimension of 700 nm and a thickness of 35 nm were suspended in ethanol with an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate, to improve the suspension stability. The prepared AgNPL suspension was then spread over the water surface via the Langmuir-Blodgett approach to generate a self-assembled thin film.

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Background: Omalizumab is the only biological agent approved for patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), but no biomarker is well established for predicting clinical response to omalizumab.

Objective: We aimed to determine the association between baseline total serum IgE levels and the effects of omalizumab in patients with CSU.

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched for relevant studies from inception to August 23, 2022.

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  • Hypospadias repair studies often fail to provide specific details about surgical techniques used, which limits the ability to make effective comparisons across different practices.
  • This study aimed to create a comprehensive surgical atlas by assessing the methods surgeons use for documenting their operative notes and analyzing their surgical techniques for distal and proximal hypospadias repairs.
  • Twenty-five surgeons from twelve institutions participated, revealing a wide range in the number of procedures performed annually, with many surgeons reporting they perform fewer than 20 distal repairs per year.
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We propose a novel process to efficiently prepare highly dispersed and stable Tricalcium Phosphate (β-TCP) suspensions. TCP is coupled with a polymer to enhance its brittleness to be used as an artificial hard tissue. A high solid fraction of β-TCP is mixed with the polymer in order to improve the mechanical strength of the prepared material.

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Introduction And Objective: Optimal means to correct ventral curvature (VC) is debated. Our preferred technique for curvature greater than 45° is corporoplasty using tunica vaginalis flap (TVF). We describe our complications with TVF for ventral lengthening.

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Background: Cryptorchidism is one of the most common reasons for pediatric urology referral and one of the few pediatric urologic conditions in which there are established AUA guidelines that recommend orchiopexy be performed before 18 months of age. While access to timely orchiopexy has been studied previously, there is no current study with data from a national clinical database evaluating timely orchiopexy after the AUA guidelines were published. Additionally, prior studies on delayed orchiopexy may have included patients with an ascended testis, which is a distinct population from those with true undescended testicles.

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Background: Single-layer ACell Cytal matrix (ACell Inc, Columbia, MD) is a commercially available, acellular scaffold derived from porcine bladder epithelial basement membrane and tunica propria. We describe our initial experience using Cytal as corporal graft in pediatric patients who underwent correction of ventral curvature in proximal hypospadias repair.

Methods: A retrospective review of a single-institution, 4 surgeon hypospadias database was performed between January 2020 and December 2021.

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Background: Patients with spina bifida are at risk for developing bladder and renal deterioration secondary to increased bladder storage pressures.

Objectives: To determine the association of home bladder volume and pressure measurements (home manometry) to: 1) detrusor storage pressures on urodynamics (UDS); and 2) the presence of Society of Fetal Urology (SFU) grades 3-4 hydronephrosis on renal bladder ultrasound in patients with spina bifida.

Methods: Data were prospectively collected on patients with spina bifida and neurogenic bladder requiring clean intermittent catheterization.

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Background: Prenatal hydronephrosis (PNH) is one of the most common congenital anomalies and can increase the risk of developing a urinary tract infection (UTI) in the first two years of life. Continuous antibiotic prophylaxis (CAP) has been recommended empirically to prevent UTI in children with PNH, but its use has been controversial.

Objective: We describe the incidence of UTI in children with isolated PNH of the renal pelvis without ureteral dilation.

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Background: Behçet disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis. In addition to the mucocutaneous lesions, the vascular injury of pathophysiology in BD is theoretically correlated with cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to elucidate the association of BD with ischaemic heart diseases (IHDs) and stroke.

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In this work, the dependence of effective Young's modulus on the thickness of suspended graphene was confirmed through a drop impingement method. Large area suspended graphene (LSG) layers with a diameter of up to 400 μm and a nanometer thickness were prepared through transferring chemical vapor deposition grown graphene from copper substrates. 4, 8, and 12-layer LSG samples were found to be crumpled yet defect-free.

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Background: Prenatal hydronephrosis is one of the most common anomalies detected on prenatal ultrasonography. Patients with prenatal hydronephrosis and ureteral dilation are at increased risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) and continuous antibiotic prophylaxis (CAP) is recommended. However, current guidelines do not define the minimum ureteral diameter that would be considered a dilated ureter in these patients.

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Background: Testicular torsion is a surgical emergency, and time to detorsion is imperative for testicular salvage. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients may delay emergency care due to stay-at-home orders and concern of COVID-19 exposure.

Objective: To assess whether emergency presentation for testicular torsion was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether the rate of orchiectomy increased compared to a retrospective period.

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Background: Uncircumcised males are at higher risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) in the first year of life and circumcision is recommended as an option for males with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Uncircumcised males treated successfully with topical corticosteroid cream have decreased risk of UTI but the role of preputial management has not been explored previously in males with VUR.

Objective: We hypothesized that among uncircumcised boys with VUR, those with retractable foreskin would be at reduced risk of UTI compared to those with non-retractable foreskin.

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Bladder trabeculation (BT) is commonly noted on cystogram images of patients with neurogenic bladder (NB). BT is associated with a hostile bladder often requiring prompt, more aggressive management. We aimed to define and validate a reliable grading system for BT severity.

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