Penile lichen sclerosus: An urologist's nightmare! - A single center experience.

PURPOSE: Penile lichen sclerosus (LS) is a nagging condition and its progression result in devastating urinary and sexual problems and reduction in the quality-of-life. This study has been carried out to present our experience about this disease with simultaneous review of the available literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study has been done at a tertiary care center of eastern India. The data of 306 patients affected with LS were analyzed for clinical presentation, physical examination, investigations, and treatment offered. RESULTS: Presenting symptoms were non-specific. The prepuce was most commonly involved location followed by glans and meatus. Urethral involvement was not isolated as the primary site. Circumcision was done in 237 patients, while 63 patients underwent meatotomy. Thirty-six of 39 cases of LS induced stricture were treated with buccal mucosal graft (BMG) either in one stage or in two stages. CONCLUSION: LS varies from being a highly aggressive disease of the penis and anterior urethra to a burnt out condition affecting just the meatus and surrounding glans. Early diagnosis and treatment are required to prevent its complication and associated morbidity. Management depends on the anatomical location of lesion, extent of involvement, rapidity of progression and its severity. Use of BMG in LS induced urethral stricture has shown encouraging results.

Primary malignant melanoma of female urethra: a rare neoplasm.

Primary malignant melanoma of urethra is an extremely rare entity. It has very poor prognosis. A 62-year-old post-menopausal female presented with complaints of voiding difficulty and a mass projecting from external urethral meatus. External genital examination revealed a growth arising from urethral meatus with blood-stained discharge from its surface. Biopsy from lesion confirmed the diagnosis to be malignant melanoma. Metastatic work up for the malignancy was negative. We describe the surgical management of this pathology at our tertiary care center and discuss the various treatment options possible in this scenario.

Emphysematous pyelonephritis: Our experience with conservative management in 14 cases.

CONTEXT: Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a rare, severe, acute, necrotizing infection of the kidney. In this study, we present the clinical details, the management strategies, and the outcome of fourteen patients of EPN managed at our center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the hospital records was done. A total of fourteen patients with EPN were admitted in our hospital from August 2007 to February 2011. All the patients were managed conservatively. Follow-up ranged from six months to one year. RESULTS: Of the fourteen patients, four belonged to class I, five to class II, four to class IIIA and one to class IIIB. All the patients had history of fever, 43% had localized flank pain while 36% had vague abdominal discomfort. Renal angle tenderness was the most common sign, seen in 86% of the patients. E. coli was the most common bacteria, which was isolated from urine in 57% of the patients. On the risk factor stratification, three patients had simultaneous presence of 2 or more risk factors (thrombocytopenia-2 patients; renal function impairment-7 patients; shock-1 patient). All the patients were initially managed with aggressive fluid and electrolyte resuscitation, control of blood sugar levels, and broad spectrum antibiotics. Intervention, in the form of percutaneous drainage or DJ stenting, was done in six patients. One patient failed to respond to this minimally invasive modality of treatment and had to undergo an open drainage. Thus, the acute episode was managed with conservative management strategies in all the patients; however, three patients underwent nephrectomy due to poorly-functioning kidney during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: EPN is now being more readily diagnosed, at an early stage, making conservative management of EPN a safe, effective, and feasible option.

Prostatic utricle cyst: a clinical dilemma.

Prostatic utricle cyst is a rare midline cystic lesion between the urinary bladder and the rectum, commonly associated with hypospadias. Along with its rarity, it presents a challenge in its diagnosis and proper management. We report a case of large prostatic utricle cyst that was managed conservatively.

Squamous cell carcinoma in exstrophy of the bladder.

Exstrophy of the bladder is a rare congenital anomaly with an incidence of about 1 per 50,000 newborns. The malignant potential of the exstrophied bladder mucosa is well known; 95% are adenocarcinomas, and 3% to 5% are squamous cell carcinomas. Most of the malignant tumors (60%) associated with an exstrophy of the bladder occur during the fourth and fifth decades of life. Of the remaining, about 20% each occur after 60 years and before 40 years. Here we present a case in which squamous cell carcinoma developed in an unrepaired exstrophy of the bladder. We present the management of the case and a brief review of the literature.

Buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty in long segment anterior urethral stricture - is it gold standard?

To assess the success of dorsal onlay buccal mucosal graft (BMG) urethroplasty in long segment anterior urethral stricture extending from external meatus to bulbar urethra). We studied 40 patients with long segment anterior urethral stricture, who underwent substitution urethroplasty using dorsal onlay BMG from January 2002 to December 2007. The patients were in the age range of 15-65 years (mean 35 years) in the LS group and 16-63 years (mean 34 years) in the non-lichen sclerosus (NLS) group. The cause of stricture was LS in 20 and NLS (inflammatory and idiopathic) in the other 20 patients. The mean stricture length was 14.5 cm (range 12-17 cm) in the LS group while it was 14.0 cm (range 12-16 cm) in the NLS group. The patients were evaluated with antegrade, retrograde urethrograms and sono-urethrograms and they were followed- up with uroflometery at three months for one year, then six- monthly for two years and then annually. The contrast studies were repeated at six-monthly intervals for one year and then annually for one year. Success was defined as normal voiding pattern without any intervention post-operatively. Median follow-up was 48 months (18-72 months) in the LS group, while it was 42 months (12-72 months) in the NLS group. Among the NLS group patients, three patients developed restricture on follow-up, while seven patients among the LS group developed restricture. We conclude that the high percentage of recurrence of strictures (35%) among the LS group renders BMG urethroplasty in long segment anterior urethral stricture an unacceptable solution, and it needs further study.

Synchronous primary cancers of urinary bladder and kidney and prostate.

Synchronous occurrence of two or more than two primary cancers of the urinary tract is quite rare, and poses a difficult treatment challenge. Here, we present a case of synchronous renal cell carcinoma, transitional cell carcinoma of urinary bladder and adenocarcinoma of prostate diagnosed within a short period. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case reported from India and the youngest patient reported in the literature having this combination of urinary cancers.

Urinary tract endometriosis: Review of 19 cases.

AIM: The aim of our study was to evaluate the treatment outcomes of medical and surgical management of urinary tract endometriosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Urinary tract endometriosis patients enrolled between Jan 2006 and May 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative datas (mode of presentation, diagnosis, imaging), intraoperative findings (location and size of lesion), postoperative histopathology and follow-up were recorded and results were analyzed and the success rate of different modalities of treatment was calculated. RESULTS: In our study, of nineteen patients, nine had vesical involvement and ten had ureteric involvement. Among the vesical group, the success rate of transurethral resection followed by injection leuproide was 60% (3/5), while among the partial cystectomy group, the success rate was 100%. Among patients with ureteric involvement, success rate of distal ureterectomy and reimplantation was 100%, laparoscopic ureterolysis with Double J stenting followed by injection leuprolide was 75% while that of Gonadotropin- releasing hormone (GnRh) analogue alone was 67%. CONCLUSION: One should have a high index of suspicion with irritative voiding symptoms with or without hematuria, with negative urine culture, in all premenopausal women to diagnose urinary tract endometriosis. Partial cystectomy is a better alternative to transurethral resection followed by GnRh analogue in vesical endometriosis. Approach to the ureter must be individualised depending upon the severity of disease and dilatation of the upper tract to maximise the preservation of renal function.

The safety and efficacy of endoscopic incision of orthotopic ureterocele in adult.

Endoscopic incision is a good management option for orthotopic ureterocele. But most of the literature has shown its efficacy only in children. We have done this retrospective study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic incision of orthotopic ureterocele in adults. From March 2004 to January 2008, at our center, 26 adults underwent transurethral, transverse incision of an ureterocele. The perioperative data of these patients were retrospectively analyzed. The literature was reviewed to identify all the reported options for management of this relatively rare condition in adults. Unilateral ureterocele was present in 24 patients and two patients had bilateral ureterocele. One patient had associated upper tract stones. Three patients had associated stones in ureterocele. Transurethral, transverse incision of ureterocele was given in all patients. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 50.5 h. Twenty-three patients were available for follow-up at three, six and 12 months. All patients were symptom free. At three months ultrasound and intravenous urography revealed no residual ureterocele but four patients showed residual hydronephrosis, but with a decrease in the grade indicating decompression. Micturating cystourethrography revealed vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR) in two patients and the reflux persisted in one patient even at 6 months. We conclude that in adults, management with endoscopic incision of orthotopic ureterocele is safe and effective. VUR may occur in a few cases.

Rhabdomyolysis and myogloginuric acute renal failure in the lithotomy/exaggerated lithotomy position of urogenital surgeries.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate rhabdomyolysis and it's management in lithotomy and the exaggerated lithotomy positions during urogenital surgeries. DESIGN: Retrospective study SETTING: Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME & R), Kolkata, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients undergoing urogenital surgeries (lithotomy and the exaggerated lithotomy positions). INTERVENTION(S): All four cases of rhabdomyolysis which occurred after such positional urogenital surgeries were treated with conservative management for prolonged period with hemodialysis. One case which developed compartment syndrome underwent fasciotomy and also managed with conservative approach as other cases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Rhabdomylysis is now a rare complication in any open or laparoscopic surgery. But prolonged lithotomy or exaggerated lithotomy position surgeries have been shown to expose patients to the risk of rhabdomylysis and acute renal failure. RESULTS: In our institute patients undergoing urogenital surgeries in lithotomy and the exaggerated lithotomy positions only developed rhabdomyolysis and myogloginuric acute renal failure. All procedures were of prolonged duration (mean five hours and ten minutes). Three patients developed rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure without compartmental syndrome and one with compartmental syndrome. Rhabdomyolysis with the appearance of acute renal failure is discussed. CONCLUSION: Overall, our cases showed that rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure can develop in such operative positions even in the absence of compartmental syndrome, and that duration of surgery is the most important risk factor for such complications. So we should be careful regarding duration of surgery in lithotomy procedure to prevent such morbid complications.

Secondary signet-ring cell adenocarcinoma of urinary bladder from a gastric primary.

Primary bladder tumor is a frequent urological malignancy, whereas the incidence of secondary bladder tumor from a distant organ is quite rare. Secondary bladder neoplasms represent 1% of all malignant bladder tumors, of which distant metastases from stomach account for about 4% of cases. We present the case of a 30-year-old male who underwent partial gastrectomy for Signet-ring cell carcinoma of the stomach and presented 2 years later with hematuria. On computerized tomography scan, a bladder tumor was found which was resected cystoscopically. The histopathological examination revealed secondary Signet-ring cell adenocarcinoma of the urinary bladder.

Prostatic abscess: diagnosis and management in the modern antibiotic era.

This retrospective study was aimed at analyzing the clinical findings and therapeutic strategies in 24 patients who were admitted with prostatic abscess, during the period from 1999 to 2008. The diagnosis of prostatic abscesses was made clinically by digital rectal palpation based on the presence of positive fluctuation with tenderness. All cases were confirmed by trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS), and only positive cases were included in this study. The diagnostic work-up included analysis of midstream urine and abscess fluid culture for pathogens. Therapeutic options included endoscopic trans-urethral incision or trans-perineal aspiration under ultrasound guidance, or conservative therapy. Of the 24 patients studied, 45.83% of the cases had a pre-disposing factor, and diabetes mellitus (37.50%) was the most common. Digital rectal palpation revealed fluctuation in 70.83% of the cases. Trans-abdominal ultrasonography missed the condition in 29.16% of the cases. On TRUS, all the study patients showed hypo-echoic zones, while nine others showed internal septations. In most of the cases, the lesion was peripheral. A causative pathogen could be identified in 70.83% of the cases. Surgical drainage of the abscess by trans-urethral deroofing was performed in 17 cases (including one with failed aspiration), trans-perineal aspiration under TRUS guidance was performed in three cases and conservative therapy was followed in five cases. Our data confirms the importance of predisposing factors in the pathogenesis of prostatic abscess. In most of the cases, the clue to diagnosis is obtained by digital rectal palpation. TRUS gives the definite diagnosis and also helps in follow-up of patients. Trans-urethral deroofing is the ideal therapy where the abscess cavity is more than 1 cm, although in some selected cases, TRUS-guided aspiration or conservative therapy does have a role in treatment.

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy: A single center experience.

AIMS: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of laparoscopic adrenalectomy in benign adrenal disorders. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Since July 2007, twenty patients have undergone laparoscopic adrenalectomy for various benign adrenal disorders at our institution. Every patient underwent contrast enhanced CT-abdomen. Serum corticosteroid levels were conducted in all, and urinary metanephrines, normetanephrines and VMA levels were performed in suspected pheochromocytoma. All the patients underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy via the transperitoneal approach. RESULTS: The patients were in the age range of 18-57 years, eleven males and nine females, seven right, eleven left, two bilateral. The mean operative time was 150 minutes (120-180), mean hospital stay four days (3-5), mean intraoperative blood loss 150 ml and mean post-operative analgesic need was for 36 (24-72) hours. One out of twenty-two laparoscopic operations had to be converted into open adrenalectomy due to intra-operative complications. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is a safe, effective and useful procedure without any major post-operative complication and is the gold standard for all benign adrenal disorders.

Tuberculous epididymo-orchitis in an undescended testis.

We present an uncommon case of tubercular epididymitis in an undescended testis, diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), which is not reported till now. The treatment is primarily medical with combination of three or four anti-tubercular drugs but sometimes it requires surgical intervention, as in the present case.

Upper gastro-intestinal bleeding - Rare presentation of renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) constitutes 2-3% of all adult malignancies and often diagnosed incidentally. Classical tried of RCC now rarely seen, it behaves unpredictably and having diverge range of clinical manifestation including paraneoplastic syndromes. Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding due to stomach metastasis of RCC is uncommon and to the best of our knowledge, only few cases are reported in world literature and most of them were diagnosed during follow-up after complete treatment of RCC but in our case, it was the primary manifestation of disease. Our case also demonstrates the importance of imaging in undiagnosed cases of upper GI bleeding.