[Individualized patient care with urological implants using biofilm-resistant surface concepts]. / Individualisierte Patientenversorgung mit urologischen Implantaten durch biofilmabweisende Oberflächenkonzepte.

Urological implants in the urinary tract are routinely used to ensure urine flow. However, the morbidities are numerous concerning long-term derivations. Especially with the ureteral stents, failure can have considerable consequences. Since the surfaces of all urological implants are more or less ideal substrates for microorganisms, the formation of bacterial biofilms is a regularly observed and often serious complication, which in many cases forces early implant replacement. The burden on the patient and the health system are enormous. This article provides an overview of the numerous strategies developed or under development to protect against bacterial adhesion. Observations in use show "sometimes good, sometimes bad results" for all strategies, which may be due to the fact that the treated patients have different biological and clinical conditions. The implants are each equipped with defense mechanisms designed for certain "scenarios"; if they are used inadequately in this respect, they cannot optimally fulfill their task. Systematic observations of the "outcomes" and evaluation of the obtained data would be necessary in order to be able to assign an "optimal" effect spectrum to each defense strategy, thus, ultimately prospectively giving patients the most suitable product in advance. Systematic use of the existing implant concepts can avoid a large number of implant-related complications "ad hoc"; further development steps with regard to improved surface modifications can be made more specifically. However, the hope of a "super strategy" is likely to remain unfulfilled because bacteria as "opponents" have already proved billions of years of survival.

Malignant mixed mullerian tumor of the urinary bladder in a 73 year old woman.

A giant tumor of the urinary bladder in a 73 year old female patient consisting of mesenchymal and epithelial parts turned out to be the first case of a Malignant Mixed Muellerian tumor of the urinary bladder.

[Malignant mixed Müllerian tumor of the urinary bladder]. / Maligner Müller-Mischtumor der Harnblase.

True mixed epithelial-mesenchymal tumors of the urinary bladder are exceedingly rare, and only two vesical adenosarcomas have been reported to date. These tumors originated from bladder endometriosis, and malignant transformation of endometriosis has been described, with endometrioid and clear-cell carcinomas being the most common malignancies. We report an unusual case of a malignant mixed Müllerian tumor with heterologous rhabdomyoblastic differentiation, which originated in the urinary bladder of a postmenopausal woman. To the best of our knowledge, such a neoplasm has not yet been reported in the literature.

[Neuromuscular dysfunction of the lower urinary tract dysfunction beyond spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis. A challenge for urologists]. / Neuromuskuläre Funktionsstörungen des unteren Harntraktes jenseits von Querschnittlähmung und multipler Sklerose. Eine Herausforderung für den Urologen.

Neurogenic bladder subsequent to paraplegia serves as a paradigm when classifying the type of disorder analogous to the level of paralysis. In cases of multiple sclerosis micturition symptoms already present a manifold picture that changes in the clinical course. Rarer neurological disorders, on the other hand, such as infantile cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, multisystem atrophy, Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular disorders, Guillain-Barré syndrome, AIDS, herpes zoster, systemic lupus erythematosus, and herniated lumbar disc, often cause uncertainty with regard to necessary diagnostic tests and treatment.This review considers the available knowledge about voiding disorders and urinary incontinence associated with specific neurologic and neuromuscular diseases and provides recommendations for diagnostic work-up and pragmatic therapy.

[Ureterocystoplasty in the treatment of "low-compliance" bladder in children]. / Ureteraugmentation der Blase bei Kindern mit "Low-compliance-Blase".

In cases of inadequate or insufficient conservative treatment of non-compliant bladders the function of the upper urinary tract is jeopardized. We present our experience with ureterocystoplasty as one possible treatment option.A total of eight children underwent ureterocystoplasty. The etiology of bladder non-compliance and the need for augmentation was neurogenic in five children, posterior urethral valves in two children, and in one child after repeated antireflux surgery. In all patients the kidney of the used ureter was functionless. Surgery was done through a transperitoneal approach. Following nephrectomy, the renal pelvis and the ureter were spatulated and sutured into the bladder incision. An additional MACE procedure was performed in three patients, antireflux surgery for the contralateral kidney in two patients, and one patient underwent stone removal in the remaining kidney. In one patient the ureter was used as a free transplant and was covered by an omental flap. In addition a simultaneous living donor kidney transplant was performed. The storage function could be improved in all patients. The function of the ureter which was used as a free transplant showed good clinical results. The longest follow-up is 8 years. Ureterocystoplasty is a useful and metabolically neutral alternative to bowel segments. In patients with only one functioning kidney and a contralateral megaureter, ureterocystoplasty is the treatment of choice in our institution.

[Coating with plasma-deposited functionalized diamond-like carbon to decrease encrustations on urological implants]. / Plasmadeponierte funktionalisierte Kohlenstoffschichten zur Minderung von Inkrustationen auf urologischen Implantaten.

The double-J stents used today for palliative artificial urinary diversion very often show extreme formation of encrustations, even a short time after implantation. Despite increased scientific material development, the complication rate has not really been strongly influenced. Grant-aided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, we chose a new interdisciplinary and translational approach by coating standard stent materials with plasma-deposited amorphous diamond-like carbon. These stents show clearly reduced rates of encrustation in vitro. Ongoing clinical trials demonstrate a further enhancement of this effect in vivo. The underlying mechanisms are being investigated by extending the established in vitro model, thereby pushing research in this field to a new level.

[Rare metabolic disorders and urolithiasis]. / Seltene Stoffwechselerkrankungen und Urolithiasis.

Numerous metabolic anomalies, which often have no direct pathological relevance when considered individually, are found in all people. In most patients with urinary tract stones, it can be assumed that a specific combination or interaction of these anomalies occurs, thus, resulting in stone formation, but only after individual exogenous risk factors are triggered. Lithogenesis is the result of a cascade of different "events" that are temporally close to one another, but sometimes these events interact strong enough that significant stone growth occurs. Chronic metabolic disorders usually lead to permanently altered urine compositions. The occurrence of physiological urine constituents in nonnormal concentration ratios and/or the nonphysiological excretion of metabolic products can significantly increase the lithogenicity of urine, so that urolithiasis can manifest itself as a clinical symptom. In cases of urolithiasis of unknown origin, a potentially hidden rare metabolic anomaly should always be considered. In addition, if a patient has a known metabolic disease, then this should always be taken into account as a risk factor for stone formation and attempts should be taken to clarify its influence on urine composition. This also applies to the efficacy of a therapy. A distinct link between a metabolic disease and stone formation is generally rare and will likely remain so despite significant advances regarding differential diagnosis and etiopathology. This article focuses on very rare metabolic causes and/or genetic syndromes which may be associated with urolithiasis. Patients receiving symptomatic stone treatment should receive life-long follow-up care from a urologist because reducing the recurrence rate helps to improve the quality of life of the patients.

Aggressive angiomyxoma of the prostate mimicking benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Aggressive angiomyxoma (AAM) is a locally invasive soft tissue tumor with a high risk of local recurrence but without metastatic spread. The mesenchymal tumor is relatively site-specific and has a peak incidence in females in their 2nd or 4th decade. Only few cases in males have been reported in the literature. We describe what we think is the first case of an aggressive angiomyxoma arising in the prostate presenting with classical symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

[New diagnostic tool for individual monitoring of urolithiasis risk and other metabolic diseases]. / Neues Harn-Diagnostikverfahren zur individuellen Überwachung des Harnsteinrisikos und anderer Stoffwechselerkrankungen.

Urinary composition is the result of the interplay of all metabolic processes, including all metabolites and toxins produced. Any change in urine composition influences urinary supersaturation, the major thermodynamic driving force of crystal formation. Urolithiasis is a wide-spread disease with a prevalence rate of 4% to 10%. Formation risk of calcium-oxalate, by far the most common mineral in uroliths, is quantified by the Bonn-Risk-Index (BRI). The BRI measures induced crystal growth within native urine and shows superior diagnostic sensitivity and specificity compared to other urolithiasis risk indices. The concept of BRI quick test presented in this work allowes even untrained persons to easily determine the urolithiasis risk. Many diseases lack a simple, easily accessible and cost effective diagnostic approach to monitor their course and treatment success. Since BRI takes into account every constituent of native urine, it can be used to monitor a wide range of metabolic diseases.

[Intrathoracic kidneys : review and case report]. / Intrathorakale nieren : review und fallbericht.

Intrathoracic kidneys are rare and are often only diagnosed incidentally. The literature on intrathoracic kidneys in children and adults is reviewed and discussed, focusing on diagnostic procedures and surgical therapy. Additionally, the case of a 35-year-old woman with a relapse of a left-sided intrathoracic kidney after pregnancy is reported. Diagnostic procedures and the surgical management are discussed.

Ureterocystoplasty: an ideal method for vesical augmentation in children.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate therapy endangers upper urinary tract function in children with low compliance bladders. We report our approach of increasing bladder compliance using the patients own (mega)-ureter for bladder augmentation. PATIENTS: A total of 8 children underwent ureterocystoplasty. The etiology of bladder non-compliance and the need for augmentation was neurogenic in 5 children, posterior urethral valves in 2 children and in one child the situation after repeated antireflux surgery. In all patients the kidney of the used ureter was functionless. Surgery was done through a transperitoneal approach. After nephrectomy, the renal pelvis and the ureter were spatulated and sutured into the bladder incision. An additional MACE stoma was made in 3 patients, antireflux surgery for the contralateral kidney was necessary in 2 patients and one patient underwent stone removal in the remaining kidney. In 1 patient the ureter was used as a free transplant and was covered by an omental flap. In addition, a simultaneous living donor kidney transplant was performed (case 2). RESULTS: Bladder capacity and compliance improved significantly in all patients. The function of the ureter which was used as a free transplant showed good clinical results. The longest follow-up is 8 years. CONCLUSION: Ureterocystoplasty is a useful and metabolically neutral alternative to bowel segments. In patients with only one functioning kidney and a contralateral megaureter, ureterocystoplasty is the treatment of choice in our institution.