Correlation between prostatic urethral angulation and symptomatic improvement after surgery in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms according to prostate size.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of prostate anatomical factors on the changes in lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and uroflowmetric values after surgery. METHODS: The medical records of 448 patients who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) from January 2006 to December 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. Changes in the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum flow rate (Qmax), and post-void residual urine volume (PVR) at 3 months after TURP were evaluated. Prostate volume, intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP), and prostatic urethral angulation (PUA) were measured using transrectal ultrasonography, and their effect on the changes in LUTS after TURP was analyzed using multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: Among patients with prostate volume < 50 mL, preoperative IPSS total score (IPSS-t), voiding symptom score (IPSS-vs), and storage symptom score (IPSS-ss) were significantly better in patients with a smaller PUA (< 51°) than in those with a larger PUA (≥ 51°) (p = 0.001, < 0.001, and 0.020, respectively). Changes in IPSS-t, IPSS-vs, IPSS-ss, and PVR at 3 months after TURP were significantly correlated with PUA (p ≤ 0.001, < 0.001, 0.048, and 0.012, respectively). Multivariable linear regression revealed PUA to be independently associated with changes in IPPS-t and IPSS-vs (p = 0.025 and < 0.001, respectively) only in patients with prostate volume < 50 mL. CONCLUSION: Prostatic urethral angulation was significantly associated with postoperative changes in LUTS only in patients with small prostate, and had no clinical significance in patients with large prostate. In patients with small prostate and large PUA, surgery should actively be considered.

A User's Guide for Surgery Involving the Artificial Urinary Sphincter.

INTRODUCTION: The artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) has long been regarded as the gold standard for surgical correction of male stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Despite impressive rates of initial success for restoration of continence, durability may wane to the point of considering revision surgery. AIM: To provide a review of existing data as well as personal experience regarding patient selection, surgical technique, and postoperative troubleshooting for the AUS. METHODS: A systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature was performed to identify relevant and contemporary articles regarding perioperative and long-term management of the AUS. Additional input is presented based on clinical experience of the senior author. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measures are durability, patient satisfaction, mechanical failure, and urethral erosion. RESULTS: In addition to a thorough history and examination, preoperative screening should include office cystoscopy to rule out bladder neck contracture in patients with a history of radical prostatectomy. Perineal cuff placement appears superior to alternative approaches. Prior radiation and use of the 3.5-cm cuff are risk factors for future erosion. Newer findings suggest that subsequent recurrence of SUI may be due to restrictive encapsulation, rather than true atrophy, with implications for revision surgery. CONCLUSION: The AUS remains an excellent option for surgical correction of moderate to severe male SUI. Detailed preoperative evaluation and patient selection are critical. The challenge of downstream recurrent SUI after AUS can be effectively managed for most patients with a structured approach. Chouhan JD, Terlecki RP. A User's Guide for Surgery Involving the Artificial Urinary Sphincter. Sex Med Rev 2019;7:167-177.

[Treatment of the urethral sphincter insufficiency]. / Prise en charge de l'insuffisance sphinctérienne urétrale.

The intrinsic sphincter insufficiency is a cause of stress urinary incontinence. Its definition is clinical and based on urodynamics. It is mostly met with women, in context of the post-obstetrical period or older women in a multifactorial context. For men, it occurs mainly as complication of the surgery of the cancer of prostate or bladder. An initial, clinical and paraclinical assessment allows to confirm the diagnosis of intrinsic sphincter insufficiency, to estimate its severity, and to identify associated mechanisms of incontinence (urethral hypermobility, bladder overactivity) to choose the most adapted treatment. The perineal reeducation is the treatment of first intention in both sexes. At the menopausal woman, the local hormonotherapy is a useful additive. In case of failure or of incomplete efficiency, the treatment of the intrinsic sphincter insufficiency is surgical. Bulking agents, urethral slings, peri-urethral balloons and artificial sphincter are 4 therapeutic options to discuss according to history, the severity of the incontinence, the expectations of the patient.

[Histological analysis of the anterior lobe region in transurethral prostatectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the possibility of injury to the striated urethral sphincter by incision to the anterior lobe region in transurethral prostatectomy. METHODS: We incised the anterior lobe region of 60 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) undergoing transurethral prostatectomy. The patients were divided into four groups according to the incision fields: proximate superficial (group 1), proximate deep (group 2), distal superficial (group 3) and distal deep (group 4). The tissues taken from the anterior lobe region were subjected to HE staining, and the smooth and striated muscles were detected by immunohistochemical identification of smooth muscle actin (SMA) and myoglobin (MYO) in the tissues. The prostate volume, age, and PSA level of the patients were analyzed against their positive or negative results. The relative contents of the striated muscle were compared among groups 2, 3 and 4. The independent-sample between-group t-test was used for statistic analysis. RESULTS: The urethral rhabdosphincter was found in the anterior lobe region, with the smooth muscle intermixed with the striated muscle. The incision injury of the urethral rhabdosphincter was associated with the prostate volume. Increased urethral rhabdosphincter was observed in the anterior lobe region, approaching the apex of the prostate and extending to the urethral lumen. CONCLUSION: The anterior lobe region should not be excessively incised in transurethral prostatectomy so as to avoid direct injury of the striated urethral sphincter, which is especially important for prostates of smaller volume or operation near the apex of the prostate.

Surgical anatomy of the prostate in the era of radical robotic prostatectomy.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: New insights in the anatomy of the prostate and the surrounding tissue evolve the technique of radical prostatectomy for the treatment of prostate cancer. RECENT FINDINGS: Regarding the course of the erectile nerves along the prostate, recent studies confirmed the presence of parasympathetic pro-erectile nerve fibers at the anterolateral aspect of the prostate. Another study of intraoperative electrostimulation of those nerves confirmed an increase in intracavernosal pressure by stimulations between the 1 and 3 o'clock position. Therefore, it is very likely that these anterior nerve fibers have an effect on erectile function. Regarding the urethral sphincter in the male, a study showed no attachment of the external sphincter to the levator ani muscle, probably resulting in an absence of a levator ani support to the continence mechanism. The male urinary sphincter seems to be in isolation responsible for urinary continence. SUMMARY: The nerve fibers at the anterolateral aspect of the prostate seem to participate in erectile function, which renders the concept of a high anterior release during nerve sparing beneficial. The isolated urinary sphincter mechanism results in the need to conserve as much urethral length as possible during radical prostatectomy to avoid urinary incontinence.

Lead placement and associated nerve distribution of an implantable periurethral electrostimulator.

The aim of this study was to determine gross and neuroanatomic features of a novel periurethral neuromuscular electrostimulator. Periurethral leads were placed in eight female cadavers. In two cases, leads were imaged after placement to enhance anatomic understanding. Pelvic viscera were removed en bloc for analysis of lead placement in the six remaining cadavers. Excised tissue was sectioned and immunostained to identify general, afferent, sympathetic, and nitric oxide synthase efferent nerve fibers. The electrodes were found within/lateral (n = 4), within/posterolateral (n = 9), and anterolateral (n = 1) to the external urethral sphincter (distance 0.25 +/- 0.5, 2.9 +/- 3.3, and 1.0 +/- 0.0 mm, respectively). The electrode to the urethra and vagina distance averaged 7.6 +/- 3.4 and 8.8 +/- 4.3 mm, respectively. Variable density staining for all nerve types was found around the electrode. A periurethral electrode interfaces the external urethral sphincter, and the adjacent distribution of nerve fibers supports proposed neuromuscular therapeutic mechanisms.

The integrated continence system: a manual therapy approach to the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) constitutes a large-scale public health concern. The integrated continence system (ICS) developed by the authors is an evidence-based model that demonstrates how urinary incontinence is maintained through the interaction of three structural systems (intrinsic urethral closure, urethral support and lumbopelvic stability) and three modifiable factors (motor control, musculoskeletal and behavioural). The purpose of the ICS is first, to demonstrate the important role that manual physiotherapists can play in the treatment of SUI and second, to guide clinical practice decisions in order to improve clinical outcomes among women with SUI.

Response of guinea pig smooth and striated urethral sphincter to cromakalim, prazosin, nifedipine, nitroprusside, and electrical stimulation.

Prazosin (an alpha-1-adrenergic blocker) and cromakalim (potassium channel opener), given alone, induced significant fatigue of the urethral sphincter at a concentration of 10(-4) M; both drugs combined achieved a significant sphincteric fatigue at a concentration of 10(-5) M each. To 10(-4) M hexamethonium (ganglionic smooth muscle blocker) and 10(-4) M decamethonium (nicotinic blocker of striated muscle) the striated urethral sphincter responded like striated muscle with no detectable function of its smooth muscle component. Therefore, the striated component seems to play a dominant role in sphincteric function. With calcium depletion or in the presence of a calcium channel blocker (10(-4) M nifedipine) the urethral sphincter showed a relative enhancement of response to electrical field stimulation when compared with smooth and skeletal muscle, whose responses were both significantly reduced. This phenomenon could not be explained with calcium-dependent, inhibitory, nitric oxide-releasing nerves, as the NO-synthase blocker N-nitro-L-arginine (10(-5) M to 5 x 10(-5) M) failed to induce the enhancement of sphincter contraction during electrostimulation found with calcium depletion. Still, NO-releasing nerves might play a role in sphincteric relaxation because sodium nitroprusside (10(-5) M) induced a significant relaxation of the urethral sphincter precontracted with 80 mM potassium. The potential to weaken sphincteric closure with drugs, exemplified by the results obtained in response to prazosin and cromakalim, would represent a therapeutic advance in the patient with neurogenic bladder dysfunction.

Feasibility of controlled micturition through electric stimulation.

Historically, man has been aware of bioelectric phenomena for some 4,000 years. Yet it has only been during the last 20 years that technology has advanced to the stage where controlled bladder emptying has become feasible. A great deal of interest followed the introduction of transistor and bladder stimulation via the principle of radio frequency induction. Spinal cord, sacral, and pelvic nerve and direct bladder stimulation have all been attempted. Only direct bladder stimulation in lower motor neuron situations has shown any promise. The many difficulties associated with bladder stimulation include simultaneous sphincter contraction, pain, electrode and insulation difficulties, and fibroplasia due to movement of electrodes placed in pliable tissues. In addition, the role of the prostate, increased urethral length, and erection responses in the male have received little investigation. These problems are outlined and experimental observations of attempts to achieve controlled micturition in canines areresented. These studies were carried out over a 3-year period, and emphasize responses to stimulation of the spinal cord and sacral roots. It was concluded that the most efficient manner by which to effect simulated micturition is via stimulation of the ventral sacral root dominant for bladder responsiveness, and combine this with selective division of somatic fibers of only the root being stimulated.