Surgical treatment of renal-cell carcinoma in elderly people. / Tratamiento quirúrgico del carcinoma de células renales en personas de edad avanzada.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the oncological characteristics and evolution of patients 65 years or older who underwent surgery for renal-cell carcinoma (RCC). METHODS: We reviewed our prospectively maintained database of patients with RCC treated surgically. Those ≥ 65 years old were selected. We analyzed clinical and pathological characteristics as well as oncological and functional outcomes. Overall survival (OS) was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate Cox-proportional hazards model was used to determine predictors of OS. RESULTS: A total of 156 elderly patients with mean age 72.0±5.5 years (range 65-92) and median follow-up of 33 months were included. Surgical approach was open radical nephrectomy in 114 (73.5%), laparoscopic radical nephrectomy in 13 (8.4%), open partial nephrectomy in 23 (14.2%) and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in 6 (3.9%). Pathological stage was: Stage I, 71 (45.5%); Stage II, 27 (17.3%); Stage III, 48 (30.8%); and Stage IV, 10 (6.4%). Lastly, 51 (32.6%) patients died, 22 (43.1%) from cancer. The 5-year OS according to pathological stage was 77.6%, 71.9%, 45.1% and 11.7% for stage I, II, III and IV, respectively (P<.001). On multivariate analysis, pathological stage independently predicted OS (HR 1.96, 95% CI [1.36-2.84], P=.0003). CONCLUSIONS: The surgical management of RCC appears to be safe in properly selected patients 65 years or older. Pathological stage predicts survival in this population.

Hand-assisted laparoscopic versus open donor nephrectomy: a retrospective comparison of perioperative and functional results in a tertiary care center in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic nephrectomy for living donors is the current procedure of choice. Hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALDN) is the variation of this technique currently used in our institution. Though the advantages and disadvantages have been described for this procedure, the graft function compared with open surgery has been shown to be equal. We compared the outcomes of patients undergoing the former standard open donor nephrectomy (ODN) versus the current HALDN technique. METHODS: In this retrospective, comparative, and analytic study we reviewed our institutional database of renal transplantation procedures from January 2005 to April 2011 for perioperative variables and 1-year follow-up data. Donor renal function was evaluated with serum creatinine concentrations and estimated glomerular filtration rates with the Chronic Kidney Disease-Epidemiology formula. Complications were reported with the Clavien-Dindo classification. RESULTS: The 190 consecutive donors included 99 ODN and 91 HALDN, who did not show baseline differences. ODN had a shorter mean operative time (217 ± 57.5 vs 270 ± 60.1 minutes) and shorter warm ischemia time (2.12 ± 1.4 vs 4.62 ± 2.7 minutes). HALDN had less operative blood loss (274.4 ± 198.1 vs 202.99 ± 157.1 mL) and shorter in-hospital stay (5.58 ± 2.2 vs 4.23 ± 1.8 days). There were no significant differences in 30-day surgical complications or transfusion requirements. No graft loss was reported. No difference in renal function was observed between the groups at days 1-2 or months 1, 6, or 12 after nephrectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic surgery has replaced conventional open surgery for living renal donors. HALDN is a safe and successful procedure compared with ODN. It is now the procedure of choice in our institution.

Natural history of pyuria and microhematuria after prostate surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Urinalysis alterations are common after prostatic surgery. However, time to normalization has not been established. Presence of pyuria and microhematuria can lead to unnecessary diagnostic procedures. The objective of this study is to determine the time to normalization for both parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed medical records of patients who underwent prostatic surgery without infectious complications during follow-up. We included patients who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) with either monopolar or bipolar energy, or open prostatectomy (OP). Kaplan-Meier curves were used to determine the time of persistence of both parameters. ANOVA was used to compare the 3 groups according to the type of surgery. We analyzed the impact of preoperative use of 5-α-reductase inhibitors, and searched for a correlation between the weight of resected tissue and persistence of both parameters. RESULTS: 85 patients were analyzed: 44 underwent monopolar TURP, 27 bipolar TURP, and 14 OP. Persistence of pyuria was significantly longer than microhematuria with a median of 274 days vs. 176 days. Neither the use of monopolar or bipolar energy, nor the use of preoperative 5α-reductase inhibitors affected the persistence time. We found a positive correlation between the resected tissue weight and the persistence of leukocyturia after endoscopic surgery: 23 g was the best cut-off point. CONCLUSIONS: Pyuria persists longer than microhematuria regardless of the type of surgery. There is a correlation between the resected tissue weight and the persistence of pyuria. The presence of pyuria and microhematuria after prostatic surgery is not always a pathological finding.

Performance of computed tomographic urography for the detection of bladder tumors in patients with microscopic hematuria.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, and accuracy of computed tomographic urography for the detection of bladder tumors in patients with microscopic hematuria. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients with microscopic hematuria initially evaluated with computed tomography and cystoscopy from January 2006 to December 2009 were evaluated. Computed tomography detecting a bladder lesion suspicious of malignancy was considered positive. Cystoscopy was classified as positive when a lesion requiring biopsy or resection was found. Performance characteristics of computed tomography were determined by comparing with cystoscopic and pathological findings. RESULTS: A total of 112 patients were eligible for analysis. Seven tumors were found on cystoscopy; of these, 2 were correctly diagnosed by computed tomography and 5 were missed. An additional case was considered erroneously positive. The results are a sensitivity of 29%, specificity of 99%, positive predictive value of 67%, negative predictive value of 95%, and accuracy of 95%. CONCLUSIONS: Although computed tomography has a high specificity its sensitivity is limited. For this reason conventional cystoscopy should be considered the standard for bladder evaluation of patients with microscopic hematuria.

[Prognostic factors in emphysematous pyelonephritis]. / Factores pronósticos en pielonefritis enfisematosa.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to analyze our experience with 18 cases of Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) in a tertiary care center and describe our treatment strategy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Of 262 patients admitted with acute pyelonephritis, 18 had CT findings of EPN. The Wan and Huang classifications were used. We assessed the clinical, radiological, and therapeutic characteristics of these patients and investigated potential prognostic factors of mortality. RESULTS: Between 2005 and 2010, 17 women and 1 man with EPN were treated. Mean age was 52.4 years. Diabetes was found in 66% and hypertension in 72%. The most common clinical findings were tachycardia (11), fever (11) and flank pain (9); 66% (12) presented with severe sepsis and 2 had septic shock. Acute renal injury developed in 61%. Nine patients were treated exclusively with conservative management; 5 had double J stenting, 3 had CT-guided PCD and 1 required nephrectomy after unsuccessful medical management. Mortality was 11%. Altered consciousness (P=.0001), multiple organ failure (P=.0004), hyperglycemia (P=.003) and elevated leukocyte count (> 20000 K) (P=.01) were more frequent among patients dying from EPN. No difference in mortality was found between patients managed conservatively and those undergoing invasive therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Although rare, EPN should be suspected in patients with multiple comorbidities presenting with severe sepsis. Altered consciousness, multiple organ failure, hyperglycemia and elevated leukocyte count are poor prognosis indicators. Invasive management should be used judiciously and medical treatment can be a safe strategy in selected cases.

[Importance of microlithiasis in testicular germ cell tumor ultrasound]. / Importancia de microlitiasis en ultrasonido de neoplasias de células germinales de testículo.

INTRODUCTION: Testicular microlithiasis (TM) is an infrequent finding in testicular ultrasound and its clinical importance has not been completely defined. We analyzed the ultrasounds of patients with testicular germ cell tumors in order to analyze the correlation between TM, histological findings and clinical variables. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Fifty-seven patients with germ cell tumors and radical orchiectomy were included. Clinical, pathological, and echographic data were analyzed. RESULTS: TM was observed in 27 men (48.27%) and was absent in 30 (52.6%). Patients with TM had a greater likelihood of nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) vs seminomatous (55.6% vs 30%, p=0.05), stage II/III testicular cancer (51.8% vs 16.7%, p=0.005), positive surgical margins (18.5% vs 0%, p=0.021), and spermatic cord invasion (14.8% vs 0%, p=0.048). No significant difference was found in respect to other histopathological variables. CONCLUSION: This study showed that TM in testicular tumors is associated to NSGCT, advanced clinical stage, positive surgical margins, and spermatic cord invasion.

[Radiofrequency ablation of renal lesions: initial experience in a center of reference in Mexico City (INNSZ)]. / Ablación por radiofrecuencia de lesiones renales: experiencia inicial en un centro de referencia en la ciudad de México (INNSZ).

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: With the advances of technology, the incidence of renal cancer has increased, but the stage at the time of diagnosis has decreased. In selected patients nephron sparing surgery can be made but there are patients who have important comorbidities and therefore they are not candidates to surgical management. For them, there are new minimally invasive procedures that use different types of energy to perform ablation of the neoplastic tissue; one of which is radiofrequency ablation. This article reports the initial experience with this therapeutic modality in a reference center of Mexico City. METHODS: Four patients with 5 renal masses of 3 cm or less, and with significant comorbidities that exclude the possibility of surgery, underwent radiofrequency ablation under fluoroscopic guidance. RESULTS: Five renal tumors in four patients were treated with radiofrequency ablation in a period of 18 months. No major complication during the procedure was reported, mean follow- up was of 12 months and they keep a good oncologic control. CONCLUSIONS: Radiofrequency ablation is a safe and reproducible therapeutic option for patients with incidental renal masses below 3 cm. We need more follow up to compare oncologic control with the gold standard, surgery.