Partial androgen suppression consequent to increased secretion of adrenal androgens in a patient with prostate cancer treated with long-acting GnRH agonists.

We present a case report of a patient with prostate cancer who failed to demonstrate consistent testosterone suppression to castration levels and incomplete suppression of serum prostate-specific antigen, although treated with gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists for 48 months. Serum dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, as well as the androgen metabolite, androsterone glucuronide, were elevated compared to the other patients. The present data suggest that those prostate cancer patients who have even marginally elevated adrenal androgens may especially benefit from combined androgen blockade.

Does prenatal diagnosis influence the morbidity associated with left in situ nonfunctioning or poorly functioning renal moiety after endoscopic puncture of ureterocele?

PURPOSE: We compared long-term morbidity associated with left in situ nonfunctioning or poorly functioning renal moiety of a duplex system in children with prenatal vs postnatal diagnosis of ureterocele who underwent endoscopic puncture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 48 children underwent primary endoscopic puncture of duplex system ureterocele. Of the cases 35 (73%) were diagnosed prenatally (group 1) and 13 (27%) postnatally (group 2). Median age at time of puncture was 4 months in group 1 and 3.5 years in group 2. A total of 20 patients in group 1 (57%) and 8 in group 2 (62%) presented with intravesical ureterocele, while 15 in group 1 (43%) and 5 in group 2 (38%) had ectopic ureterocele. A total of 20 children in group 1 (57%) and 7 in group 2 (54%) had a nonfunctioning renal moiety, and 15 in group 1 (43%) and 6 in group 2 (46%) had a poorly functioning ureterocele moiety. Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) was present in 23 children in group 1 (66%) comprising 30 renal refluxing units (RRUs), and in 12 in group 2 (92%) comprising 14 RRUs. Median followup was 9 years (range 1 to 15) for both groups. RESULTS: Preoperative urinary tract infection (UTI) was common in group 2 (92%) vs group 1 (20%). No patient in group 1 had development of UTI after puncture, while 23% of the children in group 2 presented with UTI. Four children (2 from each group) with ectopic ureterocele required secondary puncture resulting in satisfactory drainage. A total of 14 RRUs (47%) showed spontaneous resolution of VUR in group 1 compared to 3 (21%) in group 2. Four RRUs (13%) required endoscopic correction due to high grade VUR in group 1. Two RRUs (17%) were treated with endoscopic correction and 2 (17%) with ureteral reimplantation due to UTI in group 2. Only 1 patient in group 1 underwent nephrectomy due to nonfunctioning kidney, while 2 patients in group 2 required partial nephrectomy due to UTI. CONCLUSIONS: Our data reveal that prenatal diagnosis of duplex system ureterocele is associated with fewer UTIs, and early endoscopic management may decrease UTI and the need for additional surgery. Nonfunctioning or poorly functioning renal moieties left in situ following successful endoscopic decompression of ureterocele are not associated with additional morbidity and do not require partial nephrectomy in the majority of the cases.

Dorsal tunica albuginea plication to correct congenital and acquired penile curvature: a long-term follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term efficacy of a tunica albuginea dorsal plication technique for treating congenital and acquired penile curvature. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 83 patients (median age 1.8 years) who had their penile curvature corrected surgically using dorsal tunica albuginea plication between 1992 and 2002. The results were evaluated objectively using a pharmacological erection test or subsequently based either on the parents' reports or patients' self-assessment. The median (range) follow-up was 6 (0.7-10) years. RESULTS: Seventy (84%) patients had penile plication as an integral part of hypospadias repair, while the remaining 13 (16%) with a normal urethra had dorsal plication only. Twenty-eight (34%) of the 83 patients had an erection test during a repeat hypospadias repair or closure of a urethrocutaneous fistula; 22 of these had a straight penis, while the remaining six required additional plication for a satisfactory cosmetic outcome. Parents of 45 (54%) children reported that their child had a normal erection with no chordee during the follow-up. Ten (12%) adult patients reported straight erections enabling satisfactory penetration and sensation during sexual intercourse. None of the patients reported penile shortening or erectile dysfunction after surgery, and none had recurrent curvature during the follow-up. There was no difference in the results between patients with congenital or acquired penile curvature. CONCLUSIONS: Dorsal plication of the tunica albuginea is a simple and effective method in the long term for correcting congenital and acquired penile curvature.

Endoscopic puncture of ureterocele as a minimally invasive and effective long-term procedure in children.

OBJECTIVES: Over the past years the surgical approach to ureterocele has evolved from complicated major surgery to minimally invasive endoscopic treatment. Because of the high rate of secondary surgery in some recently reported series, an upper pole partial nephrectomy is again recommended as the procedure of choice. We have retrospectively evaluated the long-term results of endoscopic puncture of a ureterocele and its long-term effectiveness and applicability in children. METHODS: Over the past 8 years, 34 patients (20 female, 14 male) were treated in our service with primary endoscopic puncture of a ureterocele. The mean age of the patients was 1.1 +/- 4.3 (mean +/- SD) years. Mean follow-up was 6.1 +/- 2.4 years. Antenatally ultrasound detected the ureterocele in 5 (14%) patients, fetal hydronephrosis leading to the postnatal diagnosis in 13 (38%), and 16 (48%) children presented with symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI). The ureteroceles presented as part of renal duplication in 31 patients (91%), 3 (9%) in a single system and 1 child had bilateral ureteroceles of a duplex system. Twenty (58%) children had intravesical ureteroceles and the remaining 14 (42%) ectopic ureteroceles. Very poorly functioning upper pole moiety presented in 26 (75%) of the cases and nonfunctioning upper poles in 5 (14%). Twenty of 34 children (58%) had initial vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) to the lower moiety, either to the ipsi (60%) or contralateral kidney (40%). A cold knife incision was carried out in 4 (11.7%), puncture by a 3-french Bugbee electrode in 20 (58%), and the stylet of a 3-french ureteral catheter was utilized to puncture the ureterocele in the remaining 10 patients (30.3%). RESULTS: Complete decompression of the ureterocele was observed in 32 of 34 children (94%). Two patients required secondary puncture 2 years following the primary procedure and are doing well. Upper pole moiety function improved postoperatively in 2 infants and remained stable in all 32 patients, no patient presented with deterioration of the renal function. Six of 20 (30%) patients who had initial VUR to the lower pole, accompanied with recurrent UTI, required surgery. Three underwent ureteric reimplantation and another 3 submucosal polytetrafluoroethylene paste (Teflon) injection. Eight (40%) patients presented with spontaneous resolution of VUR to the lower moiety following puncture of the ureterocele. An additional 6 (17.6%) patients developed VUR to the upper moiety following the puncture of the ureterocele, 3 after cold knife incision and 3 after simple puncture. In 2, submucosal Teflon injection solved the VUR and the remaining 4 patients were maintained on prophylactic antibiotics. In 1 child the reflux resolved spontaneously, and none of them presented with UTI. In 2 cases with nonfunctional upper poles, partial nephrectomy was performed due to symptomatic UTI in spite of complete collapse of the ureterocele 1 and 2 years, respectively, following the initial puncture. No difference was observed in the re-operation rate between the patients with ectopic versus intravesical ureterocele (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: We found that endoscopic puncture of a ureterocele presents an easily performed procedure which allows the release of obstructive ureters and avoids major surgery in the majority of the cases even after a long follow-up.

Transabdominal pelvic sonography in the preoperative evaluation of patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

PURPOSE: We assessed the clinical value of transabdominal pelvic sonography in the preoperative evaluation of patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) who required feminizing genitoplasty. METHODS: From 1987 to 1998, 31 patients with female pseudohermaphroditism due to CAH underwent feminizing genitoplasty. The median age of the patients was 9 months (range, 1-18 years). Radiologic evaluation performed before surgical reconstruction included retrograde genitography in the first 10 patients and sonographic examination in all 31 patients. Imaging was used to evaluate the anatomic positions and the length of the vagina, whether the junction of the vagina and the urogenital sinus occurred distal or proximal to the pelvic floor, and the presence of internal genitalia. RESULTS: Abdominal sonography identified internal female genitalia in all 31 patients, identified the anatomic shape and position of the vagina in 30 patients (97%), and confirmed the site of communication between the vagina and the urogenital sinus relative to the pelvic floor in 28 patients (90%). Sonographic findings were confirmed by intraoperative panendoscopy. Genitography was less useful than sonography, identifying the site of communication between the vagina and urogenital sinus in only 6 (60%) of 10 patients. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with CAH undergoing vaginal reconstruction, sonography provides adequate information about the anatomy of the vagina and urogenital sinus for surgical decision-making.

Does early detection of ureteropelvic junction obstruction improve surgical outcome in terms of renal function?

PURPOSE: Prenatal ultrasound leads to the early detection of hydronephrosis. When followed by the early diagnosis of ureteropelvic junction obstruction surgical treatment, if indicated, is associated with minimal morbidity. We attempt to prove the benefits of this therapeutical approach from the point of view of renal function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1979 to 1997, 452 patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction underwent dismembered pyeloplasty. Of these patients 113 with comparable data were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were divided into group 1-50 who presented with prenatal hydronephrosis and group 2-63 with neonatal hydronephrosis who were lost to followup and who then presented with symptoms leading to the diagnosis of ureteropelvic junction obstruction. In each group the diagnostic criteria and indications for surgery were identical based on symptomatology, ultrasound and renal scan. Patients with bilateral disease, solitary kidney or vesicoureteral reflux were excluded from study. In groups 1 and 2 median patient age at surgery was 11 months and 5 years, and average postoperative followup was 4.2 and 3.2 years, respectively. RESULTS: In 41 of the 50 group 1 and 60 of the 63 group 2 patients hydronephrosis was severe and the renal pelvis was more than 3 cm. wide. Poor relative renal function (less than 30%) was significantly more pronounced in group 2 than in group 1 (56 of 63 patients or 89% versus 6 of 50 or 12%, p <0.05). In all 113 patients postoperative followup ultrasound and renal scan revealed significant improvement in hydronephrosis and washout curve pattern. There was a significant difference in the 2 groups in regard to renal function improvement postoperatively (66% of group 1 versus 16% of group 2 patients, p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We believe that patients who undergo prenatal imaging and are diagnosed early with ureteropelvic junction obstruction should be carefully and meticulously followed. Special efforts should be made to ensure that patients are not lost to followup. After any sign of deterioration develops early surgery is indicated. According to our data operative treatment results in improved renal function.