Drain placement can safely be omitted for open partial nephrectomy: Results from a prospective randomized trial.

Objectives: To examine the benefit of drain placement during open partial nephrectomy.

Methods: Overall, 106 patients treated with open partial nephrectomy were enrolled in a prospective randomized trial. Based on the randomization, a drain was placed or omitted.

Standardized comparison of prostate morcellators using a new ex-vivo model.

Background And Purpose: Transurethral laser enucleation of the prostate is a common therapeutic option for the treatment of benign prostate enlargement. Evacuation of the enucleated tissue from the bladder is usually performed by electric morcellators. Until now, a standardized evaluation of the different morcellator settings does not exist.

Radiation exposure during endourologic procedures using over-the-table fluoroscopy sources.

Background And Purpose: Fluoroscopy is used daily by endourologic surgeons worldwide without knowledge of received radiation doses. We wanted to assess the radiation exposure of endourologic surgeons by frequently performed endourologic interventions with an over-the-table x-ray system.

Patients And Methods: In this prospective single-center study, 235 endourologic interventions in 188 patients from April to September 2010 were included.

Initial experience with a newly developed antirefluxive ureter stent.

The objective of this study was to assess the functional efficacy of newly developed antirefluxive ureter stents (DJ), by performing immediate post-stenting cystograms on patients with acute ureteral obstruction requiring a DJ stent, and assessing stent-related symptoms by means of ureteral stent symptoms questionnaire (USSQ). Patients with acute hydronephrosis requiring internal drainage were randomized to receive either an antirefluxive DJ or a conventional DJ (7 Fr., 26 cm, polyurethane, Urovision(®), Germany).

Do new generation flexible ureterorenoscopes offer a higher treatment success than their predecessors?

New generation flexible ureterorenoscopes offer an improved deflection mechanism and a stiffer sheath compared to their predecessors. We aimed to determine if these improvements in design lead to a higher efficacy in the treatment of nephrolithiasis. Ninety patients with upper urinary tract calculi were included into a retrospective analysis.

Does open stone surgery still play a role in the treatment of urolithiasis? Data of a primary urolithiasis center.

Objective: The introduction and continuous development of percutaneous nephrolithotomy, the achievement of extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy, and the advancements in ureterorenoscopy have led to a revolution in the interventional management urolithiasis. The indications for open stone surgery have been narrowed significantly making it a second- or third-line treatment option. We report on patients undergoing open stone surgery for nephrolithiasis in our department during the last 10 years to examine our indications at a primary urolithiasis center and to determine the clinical situations in which open surgery is a reasonable alternative.

Prospective evaluation of acute endocrine pancreatic injury as collateral damage of shock-wave lithotripsy for upper urinary tract stones.

Unlabelled: There has been controversy over whether extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) can cause damage to the endocrine cells of the pancreas, leading to the later development of diabetes mellitus. Authors from Germany prospectively evaluated acute endocrine pancreatic injury as collateral damage caused by the ESWL for treating upper urinary tract stones. In a careful study they showed that there was no effect on serum levels of variables indicating exocrine and endocrine pancreatic tissue damage, suggesting that the idea that ESWL might lead to future diabetes mellitus is unlikely to be correct.