Preputioplasty as a surgical alternative in treatment of phimosis.

Preputioplasty denotes various surgical techniques directed at resolving phimosis without the need for radical or partial circumcision. This narrative review summarizes the best-known surgical techniques of preputioplasty. A MEDLINE and EMBASE-based literature search of original manuscripts and case reports published in English has been carried out using the following key words: "circumcision", "partial circumcision", "phimosis", "paraphimosis", and "preputioplasty". Six different procedures are explored in more detail and illustrated. The complication rates of all surgical procedures presented here are reported to be low. In cases of medical (rather than cultural and religious) indications, foreskin-preserving procedures present useful alternatives to circumcision in the routine clinical practice of urologists and pediatric surgeons.

Surgery in metastatic testicular cancer.

Surgery in advanced testicular tumors is an integral part of the multimodality treatment. However, the indications for surgery in testis cancer have changed over the last 10 years. Patients with advanced seminoma only rarely will need surgery after chemotherapy whereas patients with advanced non-seminoma need to undergo the resection of residual disease in most of the cases. Surgery in metastatic disease may even be beneficial for patients with recurrent tumors, patients with persisting marker elevations during chemotherapy, or patients with late relapse of the disease. In view of late relapse, the extent and completeness of the primary resection is an important issue and, therefore, surgery should be performed in specialized centers. Most of the procedures are technically demanding and, therefore, individualized perioperative precautions are necessary to reduce morbidity of surgery. Nevertheless, in individual cases nerve-sparing techniques and laparoscopic approaches may be applicable to reduce surgery-related morbidity. This review will update the current indications and recommendations for post-chemotherapy surgery in advanced testis cancer.

A novel microvascular approach to treatment of the high undescended testicle.

A 9-year-old boy presented for evaluation of bilateral nonpalpable testes. Despite a negative human Chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) simulation test, laparoscopy found high undescended testicles on both sides. The authors report the unusual microvascular approach utilized to accomplish testicular transfer into the scrotum and discuss the diagnostic difficulties experienced in this case.

Dimethyl sulfoxide: does it change the functional properties of the bladder wall?

PURPOSE: Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is used in a 50% solution to treat interstitial cystitis. Symptomatic relief occurs in about two-thirds of cases. The mechanism of action and effects of DMSO on bladder tissue function are poorly understood. Therefore, the effect of DMSO on bladder muscle compliance and contractility was evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Contractility and compliance were evaluated in rat bladder strips exposed to various concentrations of DMSO for 7 minutes, followed by 7 to 60-minute washout periods. The effect of DMSO at concentrations of 25%, 30%, 35%, 40% and 50% on electrical field stimulation induced contractions was assessed. Acetylcholine and high KCl (Sigma Chemical Co.) induced contractions were measured after exposure to 30% DMSO. Compliance was evaluated after exposure to 30% and 50% DMSO. RESULTS: Exposure to 40% DMSO completely abolished electrical field stimulation contractions, while 30% DMSO decreased the electrical field stimulation contraction to 40% +/- 6% of the initial force but there was almost complete recovery within 30 minutes. Contractile force was unaltered by 25% DMSO. Acetylcholine and KCl stimulation after exposure to 30% DMSO produced contractile forces of 78% +/- 6% and 39% +/- 6% of pre-DMSO control contractions, respectively. Compliance decreased by 2.4 and 4.6-fold following 30% and 50% DMSO exposure, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: DMSO completely and irreversibly abolishes contractions at a 40% concentration. Compliance is altered at even lower concentrations (30%). These findings bring into question the current practice of treating patients who have IC with 50% DMSO. Lower concentrations (25%) of DMSO may serve as a safe, effective analgesic and anti-inflammatory treatment for IC and other bladder pathologies.

Priapism - etiology, pathophysiology and management.

The understanding of erectile physiology has improved the prompt diagnosis and treatment of priapism. Priapism is defined as prolonged and persistent erection of the penis without sexual stimulation and failure to subside despite orgasm. Numerous etiologies of this condition are considered. Among others a disturbed detumescence mechanism, which may due to excess release of contractile neurotransmitters, obstruction of draining venules, malfunction of the intrinsic detumescence mechanism or prolonged relaxation of intracavernosal smooth muscle are postulated. Treatment of priapism varies from a conservative medical to a drastic surgical approach. Two main types of priapism; veno-occlusive low flow (ischemic) and arterial high flow (non-ischemic), must be distinguished to choose the correct treatment option for each type. Patient history, physical examination, penile hemodynamics and corporeal metabolic blood quality provides distinction between a static or dynamic pathology. Priapism can be treated effectively with intracavernous vasoconstrictive agents or surgical shunting. Alternative options, such as intracavernous injection of methylene blue (MB) or selective penile arterial embolization (SPEA), for the management of high and low flow priapism are described and a survey on current treatment modalities is given.

Polytetrafluoroethylene versus polypropylene sutures for Essed-Schroeder tunical plication.

PURPOSE: Essed-Schroeder plication is an established operative technique to correct congenital and acquired penile deviation. However, a third of all patients complain about discomfort from the suture material used. We prospectively evaluated patient satisfaction and quality of life after modified Essed-Schroeder plication by comparing 2 suture materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1998 and 2001, 88 patients underwent surgical correction of penile deviation at our hospital. Mean patient age was 40 years (range 18 to 71) and mean followup was 30 months. Preoperatively penile curvature was greater than 20 degrees in all patients. A standardized questionnaire was sent to all patients. A total of 55 patients, including 30 with Peyronie's disease (PD) and 25 with congenital penile deviation (CPD), were available for evaluation and had complete followup. RESULTS: In 25 of these patients (12 with PD and 13 with CPD) nonabsorbable polypropylene (PP) sutures were used for plication, whereas in the other 30 (18 with PD and 12 with CPD) nonabsorbable polytetrafluoroethylene (PT) sutures were used. In the PP group 22 of the 25 patients (88%) could notice the sutures (11 with PD and 11 with CPD), 10 had discomfort (6 with PD and 4 with CPD) and 3 had pain during penile erection (2 with PD and 1 with CPD). In the PT group 15 of the 30 patients (50%) could notice the sutures (10 with PD and 5 with CPD), 3 had discomfort (1 with PD and 2 with CPD) and 1 with PD had painful erections. Three patients had recurrent deviation, of whom 2 and 1 underwent plication with PP and PT, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the PT is the more superior suture material with regard to postoperative patient discomfort after Essed-Schroeder correction of penile deviation. Nonabsorbable PT sutures do not impair the efficacy of the modified Essed-Schroeder plication technique and the success rate is not related to the underlying pathological condition.

Priapism: etiology, pathophysiology and management

The understanding of erectile physiology has improved the prompt diagnosis and treatment of priapism. Priapism is defined as prolonged and persistent erection of the penis without sexual stimulation and failure to subside despite orgasm. Numerous etiologies of this condition are considered. Among others a disturbed detumescence mechanism, which may due to excess release of contractile neurotransmitters, obstruction of draining venules, malfunction of the intrinsic detumescence mechanism or prolonged relaxation of intracavernosal smooth muscle are postulated. Treatment of priapism varies from a conservative medical to a drastic surgical approach. Two main types of priapism; veno-occlusive low flow (ischemic) and arterial high flow (non-ischemic), must be distinguished to choose the correct treatment option for each type. Patient history, physical examination, penile hemodynamics and corporeal metabolic blood quality provides distinction between a static or dynamic pathology. Priapism can be treated effectively with intracavernous vasoconstrictive agents or surgical shunting. Alternative options, such as intracavernous injection of methylene blue (MB) or selective penile arterial embolization (SPEA), for the management of high and low flow priapism are described and a survey on current treatment modalities is given.