Perineal Urethrostomy for Complex Urethral Strictures: Long-Term Patient-Reported Outcomes From a Reconstructive Referral Center and a Scoping Literature Review.

PURPOSE: There is a paucity of long-term objective and patient-reported outcomes after definitive perineal urethrostomy for complex urethral strictures. Our objective is to determine comprehensive long-term success of perineal urethrostomy with our 15-year experience at a reconstructive referral center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent perineal urethrostomy between 2009 and 2023 were identified. A comprehensive long-term follow-up was conducted, evaluating both objective outcomes (retreatment-free survival) and subjective outcomes through the use of validated questionnaires. Additionally, to provide further context for our findings, we conducted a scoping review of all studies reporting outcomes following perineal urethrostomy. RESULTS: Among 76 patients, 55% had iatrogenic strictures, with 82% previously undergoing urethral interventions. At a median follow-up of 55 months, retreatment-free survival was 84%, with 16% of patients experiencing perineal urethrostomy recurrent stenosis. Patient-reported outcomes revealed a generally satisfactory voiding function (Urethral Stricture Surgery Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms score) and continence (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form), with median scores of 4 (range 0-24) and 0 (range 0-21), but with bimodal distributions of sexual function scores (median International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function domain: 3.5; median Male Sexual Health Questionnaire-Ejaculation Scale: 21). Treatment satisfaction was very high with a median International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Satisfaction outcome score of 21 (range 0-24). The scoping review revealed varying success rates ranging from 51% to 95%, highlighting difficulties in comparison due to variable success definitions and patient case mix. CONCLUSIONS: Perineal urethrostomy provides effective treatment for complex anterior urethral strictures, with high patient satisfaction, preserved continence function, and favorable voiding outcomes. It presents a viable option for older and comorbid patients, especially after thorough counseling on expected outcomes and potential risks.

AMADEE-18: Vision-Based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Navigation for Analog Mars Mission (AVI-NAV).

As a part of the AMADEE-18 analog Mars mission, designed to study challenges associated with human-based exploration of the Red Planet, we focused our team efforts on testing means to localize an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Mars. Robot helicopters, such as the one selected for a technology demonstration as a part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission, are small and their performance is computationally limited. An essential aspect of navigation and path planning of an autonomous helicopter is accurate localization of the robot. In the absence of a global positioning system, a computationally efficient localization technology that can be applied on Mars is visual-inertial odometry (VIO). The AMADEE-18 mission provided an opportunity to test the feasibility of a state-of-the-art VIO algorithm and the camera in a Mars-like analog environment. The flight datasets included different terrain structures that challenged the functionality of VIO algorithms. The experiment has yielded valuable insights into the desired surface structure, texture, and mission times for surface relative navigation of UAV on Mars.