Comparative outcomes of partial versus total penectomy for penile carcinoma: A retrospective cohort study on demographics and postoperative complications.

When feasible from an oncologic standpoint, partial penectomy (PP) is often preferred to total penectomy (TP) for penile cancer treatment, for the preservation of functional urinary outcomes. However, to date, there has not been a direct comparison of perioperative outcomes between PP and TP. Comparing treatments for penile cancer has proven difficult due to the rarity of penile cancer in the United States. We aimed to report differences in pre-operative risk factors, intra-operative outcomes, and postoperative outcomes between TP and PP for penile cancer. Using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database, we conducted a retrospective cohort review of penile cancer patients enlisted in the database between the years 2006-2016 using the International Classification of Diseases clinical modification 9th revision codes. A total of 260 patients, 67 TP and 193 PP patients, were included. PP patients were less likely to be transferred patients (p = 0.002), diabetic (p = 0.026), and were more likely to have preoperative laboratory values within normal limits. PP patients also had shorter lengths of stay in the hospital (p < 0.001) and operating time (p < 0.001). Significant differences were also found for inpatient stay (p < 0.001), 30-day post-surgery complications (p < 0.001), deep incisional surgical site infection (SSI) (p = 0.017), wound disruption (p = 0.017), intraoperative or postoperative transfusion (p = 0.029), and sepsis (p < 0.005). Finally, PP patients required fewer concurrent surgical procedures (p < 0.001). Demographic differences between PP and TP patients may reflect patients presenting with more advanced oncologic disease. PP is associated with fewer postoperative complications, shorter surgeries, shorter hospital stays, fewer concurrent surgical procedures, and comorbid conditions compared to TP. A gap remains in the reported data pertaining to postoperative sexual function and erectile outcomes for PP at a national level.

Testosterone replacement therapy in patients with cachexia: a contemporary review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with long-term chronic illnesses frequently present with hypogonadism, which is primarily managed through exogenous testosterone. These same patients also experience a high degree of cachexia, a loss of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. OBJECTIVE: To perform a contemporary review of the literature to assess the effectiveness of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for managing chronic disease-associated cachexia. METHODS: We performed a PubMed literature search using MeSH terms to identify studies from 2000 to 2022 on TRT and the following cachexia-related chronic medical diseases: cancer, COPD, HIV/AIDS, and liver cirrhosis. RESULTS: From the literature, 11 primary studies and 1 meta-analysis were selected. Among these studies, 3 evaluated TRT on cancer-associated cachexia, 3 on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 4 on HIV and AIDS, and 2 on liver cirrhosis. TRT showed mixed results favoring clinical improvement on each disease. CONCLUSIONS: Cachexia is commonly observed in chronic disease states. Its occurrence with hypogonadism, alongside the shared symptoms of these 2 conditions, points toward the management of cachexia through the administration of exogenous testosterone. Robust data in the literature support the use of testosterone in increasing lean body mass, improving energy levels, and enhancing the quality of life for patients with chronic disease. However, the data are variable, and further studies are warranted on the long-term efficacy of TRT in patients with cachexia.

Penile prosthesis in priapism: a systematic review of outcomes and complications.

Background: Priapism is a rare condition characterized by persistent erection of the penis that lasts more than 4 hours in the absence of sexual stimulation and is associated with significant morbidity and complications, including erectile dysfunction and penile fibrosis. Surgical management of priapism can be extremely challenging. We herein provide a comprehensive review that aims to evaluate the role of penile prosthesis (PP) implantation in the management of priapism. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed using the following databases: PubMed, Embase, and Scopus to identify studies that evaluated the effectiveness of PP implantation in treating priapism and the long-term complications, outcomes, and patients' satisfaction rate. Results: Out of 717 English-language studies published between 2002 and 2022, 17 were chosen for this review. Majority of patients had a malleable PP (MPP) implant, either early or delayed after the priapism episode. Early placement (EP) of PP is widely defined between studies ranging from less than 72 hours, within 1 week, and within 3 weeks. Most common causes of priapism were sickle cell anemia (SCA), medication-induced, and idiopathic. Studies show a higher satisfaction rate ranging between 80% and 100%, with sexual intercourse achievement ranging between 64.2% and 100%. Based on the GRADE system, included studies rated as very low quality of evidence. Commonly reported complications that arise after PP procedures, include device infection, erosion, curvature, and mechanical malfunction, such as auto-inflation. Conclusions: PP can be an effective treatment option for priapism, particularly in cases of ischemic priapism lasting more than 36 hours or recurrent priapism that is medically refractory. However, due to the very low quality of evidence, larger, well-designed studies are warranted where long-term outcomes, patients' satisfaction, and complications following priapism-related PP implantation are measured as endpoints.

Severe penile necrotizing infection with subsequent glandular gangrene after distal corporal aspiration and irrigation procedure for ischemic priapism.

Necrotizing penile infection following ischemic priapism takedown is a rare complication. A 60-year-old man presented with 1-week history of green and pink purulent discharge, penile swelling, and inability to void. Computed tomography demonstrated gas and fluid accumulation within the corporal bodies, suggestive for bilateral penile necrotizing corporal infection with possibility of intra-corporal abscesses. The patient underwent extensive serial surgical debridement of the penile and corporal tissues which was complicated with poly-microbial tissue cultures, growing Candida albicans and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Despite maximal penile drainage, glans penis gangrene was developed to level of mid penile shaft necessitating a partial penectomy.

Stripping versus ligation of vas deferens in microscopic denervation of spermatic cord in men with chronic orchialgia: A multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Microdenervation of the spermatic cord (MSCD) is an effective treatment modality for men with intractable scrotal content pain. For patients not interested in preserving fertility, some centers advocate ligation of the vas during denervation, while others prefer stripping of the vas deferens to preserve the vasal artery, hence preserving vasculature to the testis and possibly decreasing post-operative congestion pain. OBJECTIVE: To compare outcomes of patients with chronic orchialgia, who underwent MSCD by either stripping or ligating the vas deferens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 85 patients who underwent MSCD from 2017-2023 was performed. Patients' demographics including history of prior surgical procedures were recorded. Response to surgery was evaluated as either complete resolution of pain, partial resolution of pain, or no improvement in pain. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients underwent MSCD with a median (interquartile range, IQR) age of 36 (25.5-46.5) years and median duration of pain of 16 (6-31) months. Thirty-seven patients underwent stripping of vas, while 48 underwent ligation of vas during MSCD. Median follow up was 12 months. Twenty-one (43.5%) patients had prior inguinal scrotal surgery in the ligation group compared to 5 (13.5%) in the stripping group, p = 0.003. The etiology of pain was similar between the groups. The response to MSCD between the two groups was similar, 67.6% of patients who underwent stripping had complete resolution of pain versus 66.7% of those who had ligation (p = 0.968), with similar rates of post-operative complications (p-value = 0.132). CONCLUSIONS: In men with intractable chronic scrotal content pain with no interest in preserving fertility, ligation, or stripping of the vas deferens yields similar outcomes with regard to pain resolution. Both techniques are safe with no reports of any testicular atrophy.

Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA)/American Urological Association (AUA) telemedicine and men's health white paper.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this white paper is to educate health care professionals about the evolution of telemedicine (TM) and to propose a hybrid model that leverages the strengths of traditional in-person medicine as well as virtual medicine while maximizing the safety and quality of men's sexual health care. LITERATURE SEARCH STRATEGY: A literature search focused on the use of TM in urology and men's health was performed through PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science (January 1, 2012-April 26, 2022). Keywords included all known permutations of the terminology used to refer to virtual health, care as well as the terminology used to refer to urologic diseases, issues specific to men's health, and men's sexual health concerns. Publications that emerged after the literature search that met this criterion also were incorporated. Opinion pieces, letters to the editor, meeting abstracts, and conference proceedings were excluded. Additional resources were retrieved, such as governmental technical reports, legislative updates and reviews, and blogs. This search strategy yielded 1684 records across databases after removal of duplicates. Abstracts from the retrieved records were reviewed for relevance. Relevant publications were defined as those that reported data on any aspect of TM use specific to urology, men's health, and/or men's sexual health. If relevance was unclear from the abstract, then the full text of the article was retrieved for a more detailed review. In addition, the published evidence-based practice guidelines relevant to care for erectile dysfunction, Peyronie's disease, ejaculatory dysfunction, and hypogonadism were retrieved. The most common reasons for article exclusions were a focus on TM use in disciplines other than urology and the absence of data (ie, opinion pieces). After exclusions, a total of 91 publications remained and constituted the evidence base for this paper.

Recent technological development of penile prosthesis: a literature review.

Background and Objective: In contemporary Urology, the gold standard for treatment of erectile dysfunction refractory to medical therapy has been implantation with a penile prosthesis. The past 40 years has witnessed evolutions in technology and surgical techniques, which have led to increased patient satisfaction rates and decreased complication and infection rates. This review is an update to a prior review article that evaluates these advancements in the context of patient satisfaction and different rates of complications following surgeries. In addition, the review compares malleable and inflatable prostheses with regard to infection rate, mechanical failure rate, and erosion rate. Methods: A literature search was conducted using Medline and Google Scholar to examine papers from 1973 to the present day. Keywords, such as, "penile prosthesis surgery", "malleable penile prosthesis", "inflatable penile prosthesis", "two-piece Inflatable Penile Prosthesis (IPP)", and "three-piece IPP" were utilized during the search. A total of 76 papers were included, and all were in English. Key Content and Findings: Studies on the latest models of each of the three prostheses (malleable, two-piece IPP, three-piece IPP) revealed patient satisfaction ratings at or above 75%. Both types of IPPs were associated with greater satisfaction and lower erosion rates while malleable prostheses were associated with lower mechanical failure rates. Although no significant differences in infection rates were noted between the prosthesis types, a history of diabetes, obesity, and smoking were predictive of infection events. Conclusions: The three-piece IPP, if indicated for a suitable patient, is generally accepted as the best type of prosthesis given its biological mimicry to an erect human penis.

Ex-vivo microscopic oncotesticular sperm extraction: step-by-step surgical technique at time of radical orchiectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the intraoperative surgical techniques required for simultaneous radical orchiectomy and microscopic oncotesticular sperm extraction (m-OncoTESE) in a step-by-step fashion. DESIGN: Video presentation. SETTING: University Hospital (University of Chicago). PATIENTS: A 37-year-old man (status after right orchiectomy at another institution for stage II-C testicular seminoma with positive preoperative tumor markers) was referred for contralateral orchiectomy of multifocal left testis mass and fertility preservation. Semen analysis before, microscopic testicular sperm extraction during, and semen or testicular specimen analysis after the first orchiectomy were unable to identify any sperm. A postoperative analysis of the m-OncoTESE performed on the left testis resulted in the cryopreservation of 200,000 motile sperm for future assisted reproductive technology (i.e., in vitro fertilization or in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection). INTERVENTIONS: Left radical orchiectomy and left m-OncoTESE. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A comprehensive visual documentation of m-OncoTESE surgical techniques with concurrent commentary detailing the reasons behind each surgical step. A brief discussion on the background of m-OncoTESE and alternative fertility preservation methods accompanies the procedure. RESULTS: This video provides a step-by-step guide to performing an m-OncoTESE (proceeding a radical orchiectomy in a patient with testicular cancer) as a means of fertility preservation in an azoospermic patient. Successful extraction and cryopreservation of testicular spermatozoa were achieved after targeted ex-vivo testicular microdissection. CONCLUSIONS: Sperm extraction via m-OncoTESE is a viable option for azoospermic patients with testicular cancer undergoing radical orchiectomies. The use of preoperative imaging and microsurgical techniques facilitates and optimizes surgical dissection and sperm recovery.

The percentage of men counseled by urologists who received a vasectomy mildly increased after the publication of the AUA vasectomy guideline.

This retrospective cohort study explored whether the publication of the vasectomy guideline by the American Urological Association in December 2012 increased the percentage of men counseled by urologists who received a vasectomy. We used commercial health insurance claims between 2010 and 2015 to identify the initial sterilization counseling visit for men aged 18-64 and whether each of them received a vasectomy within six months of that visit. A difference-in-differences analysis isolated the effect of the guideline on the percentage of men counseled by urologists who received a vasectomy, exploiting suspected variation in guideline exposure and adherence between urologists and non-urologists. In total, 226 012 men had an initial sterilization counseling visit, of which 182 204 (80.6%) were counseled by urologists and 43 808 (19.4%) were counseled by non-urologists. The percentage of men counseled by urologists who received a vasectomy mildly increased by 1.5% (p = 0.002) after the publication of the guideline. Therefore, the percentage of men who receive a vasectomy may in part be explained by practice guidelines and clinicians' willingness to consider the procedure, and future research should investigate how clinicians arrive at their decisions to recommend a vasectomy and whether a standardized counseling protocol would ensure consistency.

Male Factor Infertility: What Every OB/GYN Should Know.

Male factor infertility plays a role in approximately 30% of infertility cases. Various causes of male factor infertility exist including congenital, acquired, idiopathic, or environmental factors. Identifying the underlying etiology of male factor infertility is a key step toward providing appropriate counseling, effective treatment options, and improving outcomes for couples with infertility. Although the recent advances and developments in assisted reproductive technology have undoubtedly improved fertility outcomes, clinicians must understand the scope of reproductive urologists in the evaluation and treatment of male infertility to provide comprehensive counseling, appropriate referral, comprehensive evaluation, and correct surgical sperm retrieval techniques when needed.

Trends in the Vasectomy Rate Among Privately Insured Men Aged 18-64 in the United States Between 2014 and 2021.

OBJECTIVE: To update trends in the vasectomy rate among privately insured men aged 18-64 in the United States (U.S.) between 2014 and 2021. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used commercial health insurance claims data between 2014 and 2021 to calculate the annual vasectomy rate in men aged 18-64 in the U.S. We performed these calculations nationally and by age group, marital status, maternal age of a wife, number of children, U.S. Census Bureau region, geography, geographical region, and state. We calculated the absolute and relative changes in these rates from 2014 to 2021 to study how much and how quickly they changed. RESULTS: The vasectomy rate among privately insured men aged 18-64 in the U.S. increased by 0.11%-a 26% change-from 2014 (0.427%) to 2021 (0.537%). The absolute changes were greatest in men with 3 or more children (0.489%), with 2 children (0.295%), with a wife not of advanced maternal age (0.276%), and aged 35-44 (0.243%). The relative changes were greatest in men with no children (61%), with a wife of advanced maternal age (40.8%), who were single (40.6%), and aged 18-24 (36.7%). In every region except the Northeast, the absolute and relative changes were greater in rural geographies compared to urban geographies. CONCLUSIONS: The vasectomy rate among privately insured men aged 18-64 in the U.S. increased between 2014 and 2021. Further investigation is needed to ensure demand for vasectomies may continue to be met.

Increasing Role of the Advanced Practice Provider in Men's Health Clinics: An Analysis of Medicare and Commercial Claims in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: As urological care delivery in the U.S. continues to evolve to meet patient needs, we aim to clarify the role of advanced practice providers for publicly and privately insured patients in the treatment of male urological conditions commonly encountered in men's health clinics. METHODS: Medicare and commercial insurance claims from the Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary and Merative MarketScan Commercial Database were queried for procedures submitted by advanced practice providers between 2010 and 2021. Common urological conditions were identified using Current Procedural Terminology codes and grouped into 4 categories: testicular hypofunction, erectile dysfunction and Peyronie's disease, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and scrotal pain. The proportion of procedures submitted by advanced practice providers was calculated for each year and category. RESULTS: From 2010 to 2021, the proportion of advanced practice provider-submitted service counts for each condition within the MarketScan group increased up to 5-fold, with benign prostatic hyperplasia representing the greatest growth. The proportion of advanced practice provider-submitted service counts within the Medicare group increased up to 8-fold, with erectile dysfunction/Peyronie's disease representing the greatest fold change. The proportion of claims submitted by advanced practice providers treating all 4 conditions was higher in 2021 than 2010 in both publicly and privately insured groups. CONCLUSIONS: The role of advanced practice providers in men's urological health is increasing for both privately and publicly insured patient populations. Advanced practice providers play a critical role in urological care and can help to improve access to men's health.

Functional outcomes and health-related quality of life following penile cancer surgery: a comprehensive review.

INTRODUCTION: Organ-sparing surgery (OSS) in penile cancer management aspires to maintain organ form and function and preserve health-related quality of life (HRQoL), yet there is a lack of integrated evidence exploring these outcomes. OBJECTIVES: The aim sought to review HRQoL, functional, aesthetic, and psychological outcomes following OSS or radical penectomy for penile cancer. METHODS: A systematic review of MEDLINE and Cochrane databases included studies reporting on function (sexual, urinary or sensory), genital appearance or HRQoL/psychological well-being following surgical treatment of primary penile cancer. English-language reports (2000-2022), incorporating patient-reported or objective clinical outcome measures, were eligible. Studies of nonsurgical treatment strategies and those in the context of metastatic disease were excluded. Data were compiled and analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies were included. Sexual function was the most studied outcome (754 pooled respondents; 19 studies), most frequently with the original 15-item and abridged 5-item International Index of Erectile Function. Preservation of erectile function following OSS is generally described, with some reduction in overall sexual satisfaction cited. Heterogeneous assessment of voiding function with little preoperative evaluation render interstudy comparison difficult. Most patients appear able to void from a standing position following OSS, with spraying the most common symptom. Maintenance of some sensory function is described with both split-thickness skin grafting and urethral glanduloplasty following radical glansectomy. Limited studies suggest reasonable patient satisfaction with genital cosmesis post-OSS. A negative impact on HRQoL is described in most studies following penile cancer surgery, variably correlated with aggressiveness of penile surgery and addition of lymphadenectomy. Anxiety, depression, and reduced self-esteem have been reported in penile cancer survivors. Relationship well-being varies, with some survivors reporting this to be unchanged. CONCLUSION: OSS can preserve elements of sexual, urinary, and sensory function, supporting advantages over radical penectomy for eligible patients. However, a comprehensive understanding remains limited due to small, heterogeneous patient cohorts, challenges in obtaining premorbid data, and variability in outcome measures. Standardization of patient-reported outcomes following OSS is desirable.