Longitudinal analysis of YouTube videos discussing post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: YouTube is heavily utilized by patients as an educational resource, but this content can be fraught with misinformation. We sought to characterize the quality of videos on YouTube discussing postprostatectomy erectile dysfunction and to evaluate metrics associated with retaining a top position in search results over time. METHODS: In October 2019, we watched the first 100 YouTube videos using the search query "radical prostatectomy erectile dysfunction." Videos not relevant to the topic were excluded. Video metrics were collected, and content quality was evaluated using the DISCERN instrument. In June 2022, the search was repeated and video metrics were updated. Video characteristics were associated with search rank and the ability to remain in the top 100 spots using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and logistic regression, respectively. RESULTS: We included 81 videos which amassed 529,428 views in 2019. The median total DISCERN score was 29 (IQR 21-42), which is interpreted as a poor quality video. Self-promotion or commercial bias was present in 42 videos (51.9%); false claims were present in 16 (19.8%). There was no correlation between DISCERN score and search rank (r = 0.08, p = 0.49). In 2022, 15 videos remained in the top 100 search results and had a higher median DISCERN score than videos no longer in the top 100 (46 vs. 28.5, p = 0.01). Each additional DISCERN point was associated with a 7% higher odds of remaining in the top 100 (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.11, p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The quality of the top 100 YouTube videos discussing postprostatectomy erectile dysfunction is low. Higher quality videos had a higher odds of remaining in the top 100 search results over time but do not correlate with the order in which they are ranked.

Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Independent Clonal Origin of Bilateral Testicular Germ Cell Tumors in 2 Patients with Pure Seminoma.

The pathophysiology of bilateral testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) is poorly understood. It is unclear if they develop independently, arise from common germline genetic changes, or metastasize from one gonad to the other. We determined the underlying genomic alterations in two cases of bilateral TGCTs with pure seminoma using whole genome sequencing. Large chromosomal aberrations and KIT amplification were identified, but there were no shared single nucleotide variants or structural chromosomal rearrangements in paired TGCTs, suggesting they develop independently. The biological behavior of bilateral TGCTs may be distinct and the staging and prognostic evaluation of each tumor should be performed independently.

Using Competing Risk of Mortality to Inform the Transition from Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance to Watchful Waiting.

BACKGROUND: For men on active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer (PCa), disease progression and age-related changes in health may influence decisions about pursuing curative treatment. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predicted PCa and non-PCa mortality at the time of reclassification among men on AS, to identify clinical criteria for considering a transition from AS to watchful waiting (WW). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Patients enrolled in a large AS program who experienced biopsy grade reclassification (Gleason grade increase) were retrospectively examined. All patients who had complete documentation of medical comorbidities at reclassification were included. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: A validated model was used to assess 10- and 15-yr untreated PCa and non-PCa mortalities based on patient comorbidities and PCa clinical characteristics. We compared the ratio of predicted PCa mortality with predicted non-PCa mortality ("predicted mortality ratio") and divided patients into four risk tiers based on this ratio: (1) tier 1 (ratio: >0.33), (2) tier 2 (ratio 0.33-0.20), (3) tier 3 (ratio 0.20-0.10), and (4) tier 4 (ratio <0.10). RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Of the 344 men who were reclassified, 98 (28%) were in risk tier 1, 85 (25%) in tier 2, 93 (27%) in tier 3, and 68 (20%) in tier 4 for 10-yr mortality. Fifteen-year risk tiers were distributed similarly. The 23 (6.7%) men who met the "transition triad" (age >75 yr, Charlson Comorbidity Index >3, and grade group ≤2) had a 14-fold higher non-PCa mortality risk and a lower predicted mortality ratio than those who did not (0.07 vs 0.23, p < 0.001). The primary limitations of our study included its retrospective nature and the use of predicted mortalities. CONCLUSIONS: At reclassification, nearly half of patients had a more than five-fold and one in five patients had a more than ten-fold higher risk of non-PCa death than patients having a risk of untreated PCa death. Despite a more significant cancer diagnosis, a transition to WW for older men with multiple comorbidities and grade group <3 PCa should be considered. PATIENT SUMMARY: Men with favorable-risk prostate cancer and life expectancy of >10 yr are often enrolled in active surveillance, which entails delay of curative treatment until there is evidence of more aggressive disease. We examined a group of men on active surveillance who developed more aggressive disease, and found, nevertheless, that the majority of these men continued to have a dramatically higher risk of death from non-prostate cancer causes than from prostate cancer based on a risk prediction tool. For men older than 75 yr, who have multiple medical conditions and who do not have higher-grade cancer, it may be reasonable to reconsider the need for curative treatment given the low risk of death from prostate cancer compared with the risk of death from other causes.

Patient and in-hospital predictors of post-discharge opioid utilization: Individualizing prescribing after radical prostatectomy based on the ORIOLES initiative.

OBJECTIVE: Judicious opioid stewardship would match each patient's prescription to their true medical necessity. However, most prescribing paradigms apply preset quantities and clinical judgment without objective data to predict individual use. We evaluated individual patient and in-hospital parameters as predictors of post-discharge opioid utilization after radical prostatectomy (RP) to provide evidence-based guidance for individualized prescribing. METHODS: A prospective cohort of patients who underwent open or robotic RP were followed in the Opioid Reduction Intervention for Open, Laparoscopic, and Endoscopic Surgery (ORIOLES) initiative. Baseline demographics, in-hospital parameters, and inpatient and post-discharge pain medication utilization were tabulated. Opioid medications were converted to oral morphine equivalents (OMEQ). Predictive factors for post-discharge opioid utilization were analyzed by univariable and multivariable linear regression, adjusting for opioid reduction interventions performed in ORIOLES. RESULTS: Of 443 patients, 102 underwent open and 341 underwent robotic RP. The factors most strongly associated with post-discharge opioid utilization included inpatient opioid utilization in the final 12 hours before discharge (+39.6 post-discharge OMEQ if inpatient OMEQ was >15 vs. 0), maximum patient-reported pain score (range 0-10) in the 12 hours before discharge (+27.6 OMEQ for pain score ≥6 vs. ≤1), preoperative opioid use (+76.2 OMEQ), and body mass index (BMI; +1.4 OMEQ per 1 kg/m2). A final predictive calculator to guide post-discharge opioid prescribing was constructed. CONCLUSIONS: Following RP, inpatient opioid use, patient-reported pain scores, prior opioid use, and BMI are correlated with post-discharge opioid utilization. These data can help guide individualized opioid prescribing to reduce risks of both overprescribing and underprescribing.

Volume-outcome relationships for kidney cancer may be driven by disparities and patient risk.

PURPOSE: Provider and hospital factors influence healthcare quality, but data are lacking to assess their impact on renal cancer surgery. We aimed to assess factors related to surgeon and hospital volume and study their impact on 30-day outcomes after radical nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Renal surgery data were abstracted from Maryland's Health Service Cost Review Commission from 2000 to 2018. Patients ≤18 years old, without a diagnosis of renal cancer, and concurrently receiving another major surgery were excluded. Volume categories were derived from the mean annual cases distribution. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models assessed the association of volume on length of stay, intensive care days, cost, 30-day mortality, readmission, and complications. RESULTS: 7,950 surgeries, completed by 573 surgeons at 48 hospitals, were included. Demographic, surgical, and admission characteristics differed between groups. Radical nephrectomies performed by low volume surgeons demonstrated increased post-operative complication frequency, mortality frequency, length of stay, and days spent in intensive care relative to other groups. However, after logistic regression adjusting for clinical risk and socioeconomic factors, only increased length of stay and ICU days remained associated with lower surgeon volume. Similarly, after adjusted logistic regression, hospital volume was not associated with the studied outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons and hospitals differ in regards to patient demographic and clinical factors. Barriers exist regarding access to high-volume care, and thus some volume-outcome trends may be driven predominantly by disparities and case mix.

Local and Regional Recurrences of Clinically Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma after Nephrectomy: A 15 Year Institutional Experience with Prognostic Features and Oncologic Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate outcomes for patients with local recurrence (LR) of clinically localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) without concurrent systemic metastasis from our institution, an event that occurs rarely (1%-3%) after surgery. LR may be a harbinger of poor outcomes, and the best management of these patients is unclear. MATERIALS/METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients surgically treated for clinically localized RCC (cT1-2N0M0) with subsequent LR (in the partial or radical nephrectomy bed) and/or regional recurrence (RR; in the abdomen distant from the direct site of surgery) without concurrent metastasis from our institutional database (2004-2018). Comparative and survival analyses were performed. RESULTS: Out of 3038 total patients, 1895 had clinically localized RCC, with 30 patients (1.6%) having isolated LR/RR. Median time to recurrence was 26.5 months (IQR:16-35). Of 26 patients treated with local therapy, 14 (53.8%) recurred over a median follow-up time of 29.5 months (IQR:12-45). The 1-year and 2-year secondary recurrence-free survival rates are 60.7% and 49.7%, respectively. Two or more sites of locoregional recurrence significantly predicted secondary recurrence/metastasis after local therapy for local recurrence (hazard ratio: 2.22, P= .04). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest local therapy is appropriate for select patients with LR/RR, with almost 50% of patients undergoing a second local therapy remaining alive with "local cure" and no secondary recurrence. The number of sites of recurrence can be used to better select patients that will benefit from local therapy or systemic/combination therapy. This work provides a framework onto which further studies regarding local therapy and locoregional recurrence of RCC can be performed.

Assessing quality of care in the diagnosis and treatment of early-stage testicular cancer: A critical review and summary.

OBJECTIVE: To review the current literature on quality of care in the diagnosis and management of early-stage testicular cancer. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for studies on quality of care in testicular cancer diagnosis and management from January 1980 to August 2018. Major overlapping themes related to quality of care in the diagnosis and management of TGCT were identified and evidence related to these themes were abstracted. EVIDENCE: 62 studies were included in the review. A number of themes were identified including (1) trends in survival and outcomes, (2) management patterns, (3) adherence to evidence-based clinical guidelines, (4) delays in care, (5) treatment complications and toxicities, (6) sociodemographic factors, (7) volume of patients treated, (8) gaps in provider knowledge and medical errors, and (9) multidisciplinary approaches to care. EVIDENCE SUMMARY: As survival for patients with testicular cancer improves, there has been a greater emphasis on other components of quality of care, such as reducing treatment toxicity and minimizing delays in diagnosis. Efforts to meet these goals include encouragement of adherence to evidence-based guidelines, greater utilization of surveillance, and promotion of multidisciplinary team-based care. Although outcomes have improved, social determinants of health, such as insurance status, race, and geographical residence all may influence survival and cancer-related outcomes. Additionally, qualitative review indicates patients who receive care at high-volume institutions appear to experience better outcomes than those treated at smaller centers. CONCLUSIONS: As outcomes and survival improve for patients with testicular cancer, quality of care has become an important consideration. Future avenues of research on this topic include identifying an appropriate balance between centralization of care and expanding access to underserved areas, minimizing delays in care, ensuring greater adherence to clinical guidelines, and addressing sociodemographic and racial disparities in outcomes.

Surgical ergonomics for urologists: a practical guide.

Poor ergonomics in the operating room can have detrimental effects on a surgeon's physical, psychological and economic well-being. This problem is of particular importance to urologists who are trained in nearly all operative approaches (open, laparoscopic, robotic-assisted, microscopic and endoscopic surgery), each with their own ergonomic considerations. The vast majority of urologists have experienced work-related musculoskeletal pain or injury at some point in their career, which can result in leaves of absence, medical and/or surgical treatment, burnout, changes of specialty and even early retirement. Surgical ergonomics in urology has been understudied and underemphasized. In this Review, we characterize the burden of musculoskeletal injury in urologists and focus on various ergonomic considerations relevant to the urology surgeon. Although the strength of evidence remains limited in this space, we highlight several practical recommendations stratified by operative approach that can be incorporated into practice without interrupting workflow whilst minimizing injury to the surgeon. These recommendations might also serve as the foundation for ergonomics training curricula in residency and continuing medical education programmes. With improved awareness of ergonomic principles and the sequelae of injury related to urological surgery, urologists can be more mindful of their operating room environment and identify ways of reducing their own symptoms and risk of injury.

Clinical Restaging and Tumor Sequencing are Inaccurate Indicators of Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Standard of care for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) includes neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy (NAC) followed by consolidative therapy with either chemoradiation or radical cystectomy (RC). Some patients experience robust pathologic responses to NAC, and these have been reported to associate with somatic mutations in specific gene pathways including DNA damage response genes. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of post-NAC clinical restaging, with or without tumor sequencing, to predict final RC pathologic staging. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We reviewed our institutional review board-approved institutional database to identify patients with MIBC who underwent NAC followed by RC from 2003 to 2016. Following NAC prior to RC, cystoscopy was performed routinely, with resection of residual visible tumor and/or tumor base (transurethral resection [TUR]). For patients with pre-NAC tumor tissue available, tumor sequencing was performed. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Clinical restaging and tumor sequencing were evaluated for their ability to predict the final pathologic stage accurately at RC using chi-square or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: A total of 114 patients underwent restaging TUR following NAC and prior to RC. The diagnostic accuracy of post-NAC clinical restaging including TUR was poor, with 32% of patients being downstaged falsely when compared with their final RC pathology. Forty-nine patients had sequencing of pre-NAC tumor tissue, of whom 32 showed at least one mutation of interest. However, NAC responses and rates of false downstaging did not differ significantly according to tumor mutation status. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the inaccuracy of post-NAC clinical restaging TUR with or without adjunctive tumor mutation analysis, to assess pathologic residual disease accurately. Caution must be taken when performing post-NAC restaging, especially when considering conservative management strategies such as active surveillance on this basis. Patient summary: Several groups are evaluating whether certain patients, whose bladder cancer responds well to upfront chemotherapy, may be able to forego cystectomy safely. We demonstrate that currently available staging tools and tumor DNA sequencing cannot identify such patients reliably and accurately.

Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Non-risk-adapted Active Surveillance for Postorchiectomy Management of Clinical Stage I Seminoma.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-specific survival for men with clinical stage I (CSI) seminoma approaches 100%, regardless of the management approach chosen after orchiectomy. Given the young age and high survival rate of these patients, there has been a shift toward minimizing treatment-related morbidity and cost. In this context, non-risk-adapted active surveillance (NRAS) has emerged as a desirable management strategy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical, quality of life, and economic values of postorchiectomy NRAS for CSI seminoma. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We developed a decision analytic Markov model to estimate the costs and health outcomes of competing postorchiectomy management strategies for otherwise healthy 30-yr-old men with CSI seminoma. INTERVENTION: Real-world current practice, comprising active surveillance and adjuvant therapies (reference arm), was compared with empiric adjuvant radiotherapy (option 1), empiric adjuvant chemotherapy (option 2), risk-adapted active surveillance (RAAS; option 3), and NRAS (option 4). OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), medical costs, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, mortality, and unnecessary treatment avoidance were estimated over a 10-yr period. Uncertainties in model input values were accounted for using univariate, scenario, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: NRAS dominated all other management options, offering the lowest per-patient health care cost ($3839) and the highest QALYs gained (7.74) over 10 yr. On probabilistic sensitivity analysis, NRAS had the highest chance of being most cost effective. Although NRAS resulted in the highest rate of salvage chemotherapy (20% vs 6% radiotherapy, 6% chemotherapy, 15% current practice, and 16% RAAS), it had the same mortality rate compared to current practice (2.5%). NRAS also allowed 80% of patients to avoid unnecessary treatment compared with 46% for current practice and 52% for RAAS. Study limitations included model simplifications, model parameter assumptions, as well as the absence of patient preference as a decision factor. CONCLUSIONS: NRAS maintains high cure rates for CSI seminoma, minimizes unnecessary treatment, and is cost effective compared with other management strategies. PATIENT SUMMARY: Clinical stage I (CSI) seminoma is one of the most common forms of testicular cancer. Surgery is the first step in the treatment of men with this disease, and some men may receive additional treatment with radiation or chemotherapy afterward. As most men are cured with surgery alone, non-risk-adapted active surveillance (NRAS), which involves routine monitoring with imaging and blood tests for disease recurrence after surgery, has become a desirable treatment option. Our study shows that in addition to maintaining high survival rates and avoiding unnecessary radiation and chemotherapy, NRAS is cost effective for the health care system.

Primary robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection following orchiectomy for testicular germ cell tumors: a single-surgeon experience.

The objectives were to evaluate the safety and oncologic efficacy of primary robotic retroperitoneal lymph node (R-RPLND) dissection for testicular germ cell tumors. A retrospective analysis was performed on all primary R-RPLND cases performed by a single surgeon, who performs both open and R-RPLND at a high-volume academic institution, between August 2013 and August 2019. Data on patient demographics, operative techniques, perioperative outcomes, and tumor characteristics were obtained. 28 men were identified who underwent primary R-RPLND. The majority of patients (N = 21, 75%) had clinical stage I disease, and a bilateral template was more commonly performed than either single side alone (N = 13, 46%). Of note, two cases involving clinical stage II disease were converted electively from robotic to open procedures at the discretion of the surgeon. R-RPLND patients experienced no intraoperative complications. The median follow-up time was 8 months (interquartile range 4-29 months). One (4%) patient developed a disease recurrence at 10 months after R-RPLND. Conclusion: primary R-RPLND is a safe and efficacious procedure for carefully selected men with stage I and II non-seminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis. Long-term data are needed to evaluate the comparative oncologic efficacy with open surgery and the notably high rate of chylous ascites.

A Comparative Analysis of Surgical Scar Cosmesis Based on Operative Approach for Radical Prostatectomy.

Objective: Recent developments in minimally invasive approaches to radical prostatectomy (RP) for localized prostate cancer have improved oncological outcomes, but may also affect surgical scar cosmesis, an important component of survivorship and patient quality of life. Our aim was to evaluate surgical scar appearance based on operative approach to RP using a validated tool for evaluating psychosocial impact of scar appearance. Methods: Men between the ages of 45 and 80 were surveyed on an online crowdsourcing platform. Well-healed surgical scars after open, multiport (MP) robotic (transperitoneal and extraperitoneal), and single-port (SP) robotic RP were digitally rendered on stock photos to control for patient appearance. Respondents evaluated images using the SCAR-Q© psychosocial impact domain. Additionally, different RP scars were ranked by appearance and assigned 10-point appearance scores. Results: Two hundred thirty-four surveys were included for analysis (completion rate 84.2%). The median age was 54 (IQR: 49-61) and 35% (85/234) had previous abdominal surgery, of which 45% (38/85) was robotic or laparoscopic. SP scars had better psychosocial impact scores (median 100 out of 100 vs 69 and 58) than MP and open, respectively (both p < 0.001). SP scars were consistently ranked higher by appearance (median rank 1, IQR: 1-1) than MP (2, IQR: 2-3) and open (3, IQR: 3-4) (p < 0.001). SP without assistant port had the highest appearance score (median 9, IQR: 7-9) among all scars (p < 0.001). Conclusion: SP scars scored highest on psychosocial impact and were consistently ranked highest in appearance. These findings may be informative for optimizing both cosmetic appearance and quality of life for patients undergoing RP.

Outcomes of Active Surveillance for Young Patients with Small Renal Masses: Prospective Data from the DISSRM Registry.

PURPOSE: A paradigm shift in the management of small renal masses has increased utilization of active surveillance. However, questions remain regarding safety and durability in younger patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients aged 60 or younger at diagnosis were identified from the Delayed Intervention and Surveillance for Small Renal Masses registry. The active surveillance, primary intervention, and delayed intervention groups were evaluated using ANOVA with Bonferroni correction, χ2 and Fisher's exact tests, and Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Survival outcomes were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. RESULTS: Of 224 patients with median followup of 4.9 years 30.4% chose surveillance. There were 20 (29.4%) surveillance progression events, including 4 elective crossovers, and 13 (19.1%) patients underwent delayed intervention. Among patients with initial tumor size ≤2 cm, 15.1% crossed over, compared to 33.3% with initial tumor size 2-4 cm. Overall survival was similar in primary intervention and surveillance at 7 years (94.0% vs 90.8%, log-rank p=0.2). Cancer-specific survival remained at 100% for both groups. There were no significant differences between primary and delayed intervention with respect to minimally invasive or nephron-sparing interventions. Recurrence-free survival at 5 years was 96.0% and 100% for primary and delayed intervention, respectively (log-rank p=0.6). CONCLUSIONS: Active surveillance is a safe initial strategy in younger patients and can avoid unnecessary intervention in a subset for whom it is durable. Crucially, no patient developed metastatic disease on surveillance or recurrence after delayed intervention. This study confirms active surveillance principles can effectively be applied to younger patients.

Testis-sparing Surgery: A Single Institution Experience.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the safety and efficacy of testis-sparing surgery (TSS) in 2 specific circumstances: small, nonpalpable masses suspected to be benign and masses suspicious for germ cell tumor in a solitary or functionally solitary testicle or bilateral disease. METHODS: Our institutional review board-approved testicular cancer registry was reviewed for men who underwent inguinal exploration with intent for TSS (2013-2020). The attempted TSS and completed TSS groups were evaluated for differences using Student's t test for normally-distributed variables, chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests for proportions, and Wilcoxon rank-sum test for nonparametric variables. RESULTS: TSS was attempted in 28 patients and completed in 14. TSS was completed only if intraoperative frozen section demonstrated benign disease, except for 1 patient with stage I seminoma and solitary testicle. Sensitivity and specificity of frozen section analysis was 100% and 93%, respectively. There were no significant differences in demographics between attempted vs completed TSS cohorts. Median tumor size was significantly smaller in the completed TSS cohort (1.0 cm vs 1.7 cm, P = .03). In patients with unilateral masses without history of testis cancer, the testis was successfully spared in 9 of 22 cases (41%). In patients with bilateral disease or germ cell tumor in solitary testis, the testis was spared in 5 of 6 cases (83%). At a median follow up of 12.2 months, all patients were alive, and 27 of 28 had no evidence of disease (96%). CONCLUSION: TSS is safe and effective for small, benign masses and in the setting of bilateral disease or tumor in a solitary testis.

Cytoreductive Nephrectomy in the Era of Tyrosine Kinase and Immuno-Oncology Checkpoint Inhibitors.

The role for cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has evolved with advancements in systemic therapy. During the cytokine-based immunotherapy era, CN provided a clear survival benefit and was considered standard of care in management of mRCC. The development of targeted systemic therapy directed at the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway altered the treatment paradigm and accentuated the importance of risk stratification in treatment selection. This article reviews the literature evaluating the benefit of CN during the evolution of systemic therapy and provides clinical recommendations for current utilization of CN in patients with mRCC.

Innovation in Robotics and Pediatric Urology: Robotic Ureteroureterostomy for Duplex Systems with Ureteral Ectopia.

INTRODUCTION: Robotic technology has been increasingly utilized for complicated reconstructive surgeries in pediatric urology, such as ureteroureterostomy (UU). The literature is limited regarding the performance of minimally invasive UU in children, and the existing published series utilize indwelling ureteral stents. We sought to report on our pediatric experience with robot-assisted laparoscopic (RAL)-UU using a temporary ureteral catheter in duplex systems with ureteral ectopia. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of all pediatric patients who underwent RAL-UU at a single institution over a 2-year period. An externalized ureteral catheter was kept overnight and removed with the indwelling catheter on postoperative day 1. Intraoperative as well as postoperative complications, length of stay (LOS), and analgesia were recorded. Follow-up renal ultrasound (US) and evaluation for symptom resolution were completed 3 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Twelve patients (four male, eight female) underwent RAL-UU at a mean age of 19.4 months (range 9-48 months) during the study period. The majority of patients (83.3%) presented with hydronephrosis, and all were found to have duplicated systems with ureteral ectopia. No child had ipsilateral vesicoureteral reflux. Two children had bilateral duplicated systems, one of which required bilateral surgery. Median operative time was 138 minutes (IQR 119-180 minutes), and mean estimated blood loss was 1.5 mL. There were no intraoperative complications, and no case required open conversion. Median hospital LOS was 31 hours (IQR 30-39 hours). Median follow-up time was 11 months (range 3-22 months). One patient developed a postoperative febrile upper respiratory infection. All patients had improved hydroureteronephrosis on US at 3 months postoperatively. One patient with preoperative urinary incontinence was dry postoperatively. Therefore, the overall success rate was 100%. CONCLUSION: Our institutional results demonstrate that RAL-UU utilizing a temporary ureteral catheter is a safe and effective technique for managing duplicated, ectopic ureters in children and infants.

Renal Function Following Nephron Sparing Procedures: Simply a Matter of Volume?

Partial nephrectomy (PN) is the current standard of care for the management of small renal masses (SRM), providing comparable oncologic control with improved renal functional outcomes. Additionally, new technologies such as thermal ablation provide attractive alternatives to traditional extirpative surgery. The obvious benefit of these nephron sparing procedures (NSPs) is to the preservation of renal parenchymal volume (RPV), but the factors that influence postoperative renal function are complex and inter-related, and include non-modifiable factors such as baseline renal function and tumor size, complexity, and location as well as potentially modifiable factors such as ischemia time, ischemia type, and RPV preservation. Our review presents the most recent evidence analyzing the relationship between the modifiable factors in PN and renal outcomes, with a focus on RPV preservation. Furthermore, novel surgical techniques, imaging modalities, and NSPs are discussed, evaluating their efficacy in maximizing functional nephron mass and improving long-term renal outcomes.