Safety and Efficacy of Ureteral Stent Placement at the Bedside Using Local Anesthesia.

PURPOSE: Ureteral stent placement for decompressing renal units obstructed by calculi is safe and can be potentially lifesaving in the prompt resolution of the sequelae of renal obstruction, infection and an obstructing stone. At many institutions there can be prolonged delay in getting patients to the operating room for stent placement. We hypothesized that it is safe and efficacious to attempt ureteral stent placement using local anesthesia at the bedside without live fluoroscopic guidance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients presenting with symptomatic, obstructing ureteral calculi were given the option of bedside ureteral stent placement. Viscous lidocaine was placed into the urethra before flexible cystoscopic examination. A 260 cm Glidewire® was used as initial access with only 1 attempt at passage. All stent placements were confirmed with immediate post-procedure radiograph. Prospectively collected data were retrospectively analyzed for all patients who underwent attempted bedside ureteral stent placement. RESULTS: A total of 42 patients underwent attempted bedside stent placement under local anesthesia without fluoroscopic guidance. Mean stone size was 8.3 mm and 71% of stones were in the proximal ureter. Ureteral stent placement was pursued in 14% of patients for infection and in 59% for intractable pain. Ureteral stent placement was successful in 30 patients (71%). Statistical analysis did not reveal any significant predictors of successful stent placement in this cohort of patients. CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort bedside ureteral stent placement was well tolerated, safe and efficacious, thus expediting upper tract decompression in the setting of obstructed renal units in more than 70% of patients.

In vitro hemodynamic investigation of the embryonic aortic arch at late gestation.

This study focuses on the dynamic flow through the fetal aortic arch driven by the concurrent action of right and left ventricles. We created a parametric pulsatile computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the fetal aortic junction with physiologic vessel geometries. To gain a better biophysical understanding, an in vitro experimental fetal flow loop for flow visualization was constructed for identical CFD conditions. CFD and in vitro experimental results were comparable. Swirling flow during the acceleration phase of the cardiac cycle and unidirectional flow following mid-deceleration phase were observed in pulmonary arteries (PA), head-neck vessels, and descending aorta. Right-to-left (oxygenated) blood flowed through the ductus arteriosus (DA) posterior relative to the antegrade left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) stream and resembled jet flow. LVOT and right ventricular outflow tract flow mixing had not completed until approximately 3.5 descending aorta diameters downstream of the DA insertion into the aortic arch. Normal arch model flow patterns were then compared to flow patterns of four common congenital heart malformations that include aortic arch anomalies. Weak oscillatory reversing flow through the DA junction was observed only for the Tetralogy of Fallot configuration. PA and hypoplastic left heart syndrome configurations demonstrated complex, abnormal flow patterns in the PAs and head-neck vessels. Aortic coarctation resulted in large-scale recirculating flow in the aortic arch proximal to the DA. Intravascular flow patterns spatially correlated with abnormal vascular structures consistent with the paradigm that abnormal intravascular flow patterns associated with congenital heart disease influence vascular growth and function.

Ice packs reduce postoperative midline incision pain and narcotic use: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pain is an unavoidable consequence of open abdominal surgery. Although cryotherapy, the application of ice to a surgical wound site, has been shown to be effective in reducing postoperative pain in orthopaedic, gynecologic, and hernia operations, it has not been assessed in patients who undergo major open abdominal operations. We hypothesized that patients who receive cryotherapy would report lower pain scores as a primary outcomes measure. STUDY DESIGN: Patients undergoing abdominal operations with midline incisions were randomized to receive cryotherapy for a minimum of 24 hours in time intervals dictated by patient preference vs no cryotherapy. The primary outcome of pain relief was assessed with visual analog pain scores (VAS). The study was powered to detect a clinically significant difference in VAS between the control and cryotherapy group. Comparisons between groups were measured by Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test for parametric and nonparametric data, respectively. RESULTS: There were 55 patients randomized: 28 to the control group and 27 to the cryotherapy group. For the primary measure, mean postoperative pain score on postoperative days (PODs) 1 and 3 after surgery was significantly lower between the control and cryotherapy groups on the visual analog pain scale (p < 0.005). Narcotic use was decreased in the cryotherapy group on POD 1 by 3.9 morphine equivalents (p = 0.008). No statistically significant difference was found between the 2 treatment groups with respect to length of hospital stay, pulmonary complications, and wound infection rate in terms of secondary measures. CONCLUSIONS: Ice packs are a simple, cost-effective adjuvant for decreasing postoperative pain and narcotic use in patients undergoing major abdominal operations.

Microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy with testicular delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate our approach to the microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy with testicular delivery. DESIGN: An instructional video demonstrating the surgical procedure in a step-by-step manner, highlighting useful surgical techniques. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): Patients with male factor infertility. INTERVENTION(S): After appropriate patient selection and counseling, varicocelectomy is performed with a subinguinal approach utilizing the surgical microscope. The patient is under general anesthesia and we employ an operating microscope. The patient is positioned supine. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Not applicable. RESULTS: A 2.5-cm subinguinal incision was made and the testicle was then delivered. Through the operating microscope at 10-20X magnification, internal spermatic veins were identified and ligated. Smaller veins were taken with electrocautery. The testicular artery was identified using the microdoppler probe. We employ hydrodissection in identifying and isolating the testicular artery. The spermatic cord is then repeatedly examined until no veins other than deferential veins remain. The gubernaculum is also thinned sufficiently so that veins on both sides can be identified and ligated. Testicular delivery was performed and external spermatic veins as well as gubernacular veins ligated. CONCLUSION(S): Varicoceles are found in up to 15% of all men, and in up to 40% of infertile men. Varicoceles have negative effects on testicular function. Varicocelectomy improves testicular function and may halt the accelerated rate of decline in testicular function associated with varicoceles. Sperm parameters, serum testosterone levels, and pregnancy rates have all been shown to improve following varicocelectomy. Use of the operating microscope, the microdoppler probe, and black and white sutures aid in efficiency. Testicular delivery is useful to ligate external spermatic veins as well as gubernacular veins.

Scrotal abscess as initial presentation of squamous cell carcinoma.

We report a case of scrotal squamous cell carcinoma in a 67-year-old man that presented as a recurrent nonhealing scrotal abscess. Radical scrotectomy and bilateral simple orchiectomy were performed. A pudendal thigh flap was used for wound closure. To our knowledge, this is the first report of its use after radical surgery for scrotal cancer. The clinical features, staging, and treatment of scrotal squamous cell carcinoma are reviewed. In this report, we highlight the importance of including scrotal cancer in the differential diagnosis when evaluating a scrotal abscess.