Improvement in dyspareunia after vaginal mesh removal measured by a validated questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The objective was to examine the effect of the surgical removal of vaginally placed prolapse and incontinence mesh on sexual function. We hypothesize that patients with painful complications of mesh will experience improvement in dyspareunia and sexual function after mesh removal. METHODS: The eligible cohort consisted of 133 women who presented with a new onset of pain attributed to mesh-augmented incontinence or prolapse surgery and who elected to undergo mesh removal between 1 August 2012 and 1 July 2013. Sexual function symptoms were assessed before and after mesh removal surgery using the Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire short form (PISQ-12). Multivariate analysis was performed to identify predictors of improvement in dyspareunia. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients undergoing mesh removal completed a pre-operative questionnaire, 63 of whom also completed a post-operative questionnaire. After mesh removal, there was a nearly 50% reduction in the proportion of women reporting always experiencing post-operative pain with intercourse among those experiencing pre-operative pain. There was a statistically significant quantitative improvement in pain with intercourse after mesh removal based on mean change score of PISQ-12 question 5 "How often do you experience pain with intercourse?". In multivariate analysis, only history of vaginal delivery was associated with symptom improvement. CONCLUSION: Removal of transvaginal prolapse mesh is associated with improvement in self-reported dyspareunia based on a standardized question on a validated instrument in a small cohort of women. Although larger studies are needed to confirm the relationship between mesh-augmented surgeries and post-procedural dyspareunia, these data suggest that consideration of mesh removal is a reasonable step for patients with painful intercourse attributed to mesh-augmented prolapse and incontinence surgeries.

The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella Surveillance Study in Bangladesh.

Background: Shigella is an important cause of diarrhea in Bangladeshi children <5 years of age, with an incidence rate of 4.6 per 100 person-years. However, the report was more than a decade old, and data on Shigella consequences are similarly outdated and heterogeneously collected. Methods: Facility-based disease surveillance is planned to be carried out under the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella Surveillance Study consortium for 2 years with aims to optimize and standardize laboratory techniques and healthcare utilization and coverage survey, clinical and anthropometric data collection, safety monitoring and responsiveness, and other related activities. The EFGH is a cohesive network of multidisciplinary experts, capable of operating in concert to conduct the study to generate data that will pave the way for potential Shigella vaccine trials in settings with high disease burden. The study will be conducted within 7 country sites in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Conclusions: We outline the features of the Bangladesh site as part of this multisite surveillance network to determine an updated incidence rate and document the consequences of Shigella diarrhea in children aged 6-35 months, which will help inform policymakers and to implement the future vaccine trials.

Shigella Detection and Molecular Serotyping With a Customized TaqMan Array Card in the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH): Shigella Surveillance Study.

Background: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting ipaH has been proven to be highly efficient in detecting Shigella in clinical samples compared to culture-based methods, which underestimate Shigella burden by 2- to 3-fold. qPCR assays have also been developed for Shigella speciation and serotyping, which is critical for both vaccine development and evaluation. Methods: The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study will utilize a customized real-time PCR-based TaqMan Array Card (TAC) interrogating 82 targets, for the detection and differentiation of Shigella spp, Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri serotypes, other diarrhea-associated enteropathogens, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. Total nucleic acid will be extracted from rectal swabs or stool samples, and assayed on TAC. Quantitative analysis will be performed to determine the likely attribution of Shigella and other particular etiologies of diarrhea using the quantification cycle cutoffs derived from previous studies. The qPCR results will be compared to conventional culture, serotyping, and phenotypic susceptibility approaches in EFGH. Conclusions: TAC enables simultaneous detection of diarrheal etiologies, the principal pathogen subtypes, and AMR genes. The high sensitivity of the assay enables more accurate estimation of Shigella-attributed disease burden, which is critical to informing policy and in the design of future clinical trials.

Structural brain abnormalities in the major psychoses: a quantitative review of the evidence from computerized imaging.

The neuroimaging literature on structural brain abnormalities in the major psychoses is quantitatively reviewed. The mean effect size for studies of lateral ventriculomegaly in schizophrenia (d = .70) corresponded to 43% nonoverlap between the distributions of schizophrenics and control Ss. Planimetry yielded larger effects than linear methods of ventricular size estimation. Although enlargement of the third ventricle was comparable to that of lateral ventriculomegaly (d = .66), it was found to be significantly greater after differences in measurement method were taken into account. The average cumulative length of hospitalization, adjusted for patients' age and duration of illness, predicted ventriculomegaly in schizophrenia. Studies on schizophrenia and affective disorder differed neither in the extent of reported ventriculomegaly nor in the amount of "cortical atrophy."

Passive urethral compression with a silicone gel prosthesis for the treatment of male urinary incontinence.

Eighty-six patients who underwent implantation of the silicone gel prosthesis for post-prostatectomy incontinence are the subject of this study. The operation entails the implantation of a silicone gel prosthesis in the perineum to provide passive urethral compression. Several modifications of this operation have been implemented in the last 2 years, and analysis of our results indicates that lasting benefit can be achieved in about 70% of patients.

Genitourinary dysfunction in a geriatric outpatient population.

Clinical and urodynamic findings in 167 women and 96 men, aged 65 years and older evaluated consecutively during a four-year period in an outpatient urodynamic laboratory, are presented and compared with findings from other studies of geriatric populations. Seventy-three percent of the patients (81% of the women and 60% of the men) presented with symptoms of incontinence, most commonly of the mixed type. Although pathological lesions such as tumors and stones were rare, urodynamic abnormalities were common. Urodynamic evidence of sphincter weakness in women and detrusor motor instability were the most common urodynamic findings among patients who presented with incontinence. Close to 20% of patients who presented without incontinence also had one or more of these findings. Approximately one-third of patients had multiple urodynamic findings, emphasizing the complexity of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of genitourinary dysfunction in many geriatric patients. Despite the long duration of symptoms in most patients, the majority were substantially improved after diagnosis and treatment of the specific genitourinary and urodynamic abnormalities detected.

Prospective evaluation of an assessment strategy for geriatric urinary incontinence.

The objectives of this study were to design and prospectively evaluate a strategy to assess geriatric urinary incontinence in primary care settings. A management plan for urinary incontinence was determined for 264 elderly incontinent patients (205 females and 59 males) based on a clinical evaluation, simple tests of lower urinary tract function, and several criteria for referral for further evaluation derived from the literature on incontinence. Of the 264 patients, 168 (64%) also consented to undergo a urologic and formal urodynamic evaluation. Half of these 168 patients met at least one criterion for referral for further evaluation. At least one-quarter of the patients who met one or more of the criteria were found not to require surgical intervention, and probably did not benefit from the urologic and urodynamic evaluation. Among 84 patients who did not meet any of the criteria for referral, the urologic and urodynamic evaluation changed the initial treatment plan in only 10 (12%). The risks associated with the treatment plan based on the clinical assessment in these patients were, however, relatively small. While further refinement and testing in larger numbers of incontinent patients are needed, the data presented document that a substantial proportion of elderly patients with a treatable and often ignored problem can be appropriately managed based on a relatively simple and inexpensive assessment, which can easily be carried out in primary care settings.

Preservation of myocardial contractility in hemorrhagic shock with methylprednisolone.

The left anterior descending or left circumflex coronary artery was cannulated selectively in 10 dogs. Methylprednisolone, 1 mg per kilogram of body weight, was injected into the artery and the cannula was withdrawn. The animals were then subjected to hemorrhagic shock for 90 minutes. Retransfusion to prestudy blood pressure was then accomplished. The electrocardiogram, arterial blood pressure, contractile force, and first derivative of contractile force were recorded continously both from the areas that were pretreated and those that were not, the controls. Contractile force in the control area was reduced to 32 +/- 3.2% of the preshock period after 90 minutes of shock, whereas in the pretreated area it was twice as high at the same time. Ten minutes after transfusion, the contractile force of the pretreated area exceeded the preshock level, whereas the recovery of contractile force in the control area reached only 70% of the preshock level. This study shows that intracoronary infusion of methylpredisolone can afford myocardial protection in hemorrhagic shock to a significant degree.

Urethral pressure profile using microtip catheter in females.

The use of urethral pressure profilometry in the clinical investigation of dysfunction of the female lower urinary tract is discussed. Included is a description of the use of two-channel microtip profilometry in the urethral syndrome, urinary retention, detrusor hyperreflexia, stress incontinence, and normal females. Dual-channel profilometry improves the diagnostic accuracy of urethral profile studies and aids in the understanding of lower urinary tract pathophysiology.

Surgical considerations in treatment of Peyronie disease.

A comparison is made of two groups of patients treated surgically in nonrandomized fashion for Peyronie disease. The first group was treated with excision of the plaque and dermal patch graft; the second with simple incision of the plaque and implantation of penile prostheses. Literature and personal experience comparing the two methods are discussed.

Effect of abdominal perineal resection on genitourinary tract.

One hundred ten patients at the UCLA Medical Center underwent abdominal resection from 1974 to 1980. The following effects on the urinary tract are discussed: surgical complications, anatomic changes, and functional complications. Urologic investigation and management of incontinence will be presented.

Modified Pereyra bladder neck suspension after previously failed anti-incontinence surgery. Surgical technique and results with long-term follow-up.

Fifty-four female patients with persistent or recurrent stress urinary incontinence who underwent between 1 and 9 previously unsuccessful operative procedures were treated with transvaginal mobilization of the urethra and anterior vaginal wall with subsequent modified Pereyra bladder neck suspension. The important points of this technique are reviewed. With minimum follow-up of twenty-four months, a 94 per cent cure rate was achieved with minimal morbidity in this difficult group of patients.

Ectopic ureter presenting in midline urethral diverticulum.

A rare case of an ectopic ureter terminating in a urethral diverticulum is presented. While numerous cases of extravesical ectopic ureters draining directly into the urethra or uterovaginal canal have been reported, the termination of a ureter as a diverticular sac is extremely unusual. Moreover, only rarely has a urethral diverticulum been documented to arise congenitally due to any cause. The history and management of this new case are detailed, and the general subjects of ectopic ureter and urethral diverticulum are discussed with particular reference to etiology and continence.

Spurious impotence after hypospadias repair.

A fifteen-year-old who had undergone multiple hypospadias repairs alleged erectile dysfunction as a result of his surgery. A new method of nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity monitoring supplied objective evidence to refute this allegation. Attention is drawn to the need for and availability of written documentation when diagnosing the presence or absence of erectile ability.

Repair of upper ureteric obstruction with Boari flap and psoas hitch.

A case of iatrogenic traumatic obstruction to both upper and lower ureters resulting in severe hydronephrosis is reported. Continuity and good functional result was achieved with a Boari flap and psoas hitch to the renal pelvis.

Vaginal wall sling: four years later.

Since December 1985, we have treated 65 patients with urinary stress incontinence due to intrinsic sphincter dysfunction with the vaginal wall sling procedure. Of the 54 patients who were available for follow-up, intrinsic sphincter dysfunction was related to multiple prior bladder neck suspension procedures in 48 patients. In the remaining 6 patients, 2 had pelvic trauma, 2 had neurogenic urethral dysfunction, 1 had urethral diverticulectomy, and 1 had pelvic radiation. The success rate of the vaginal wall sling procedure for correcting stress incontinence was 94.4 percent at a mean follow-up of 23.9 months. Postoperative complications were minimal. Although 83 percent were temporarily in urinary retention, in the absence of neurogenic bladder and augmentation cystoplasty, only 5.5 percent needed intermittent self-catheterization on a long-term basis. De novo detrusor instability developed postoperatively in 14.8 percent of the cases. In no patient did a vaginal inclusion cyst develop. The vaginal wall sling is a simple procedure with excellent success rate and minimal morbidity. We recommend it for patients with stress urinary incontinence due to intrinsic sphincter dysfunction.

Silicone-gel prosthesis in treatment of urinary incontinence secondary to neurogenic bladder dysfunction.

Patients with lower neuron lesion neurogenic bladder, with normal upper urinary tracts, poor closing pressure of the urethra, and absence of vesicoureteral reflux can be considered candidates for the insertion of the silicone-gel (Kaufman) prosthesis. Our results in 10 cases indicated that there is a place for passive urethral compression in the treatment of neurogenic bladder after a careful selection of patients and using objective methods to regulate the amount of urethral compression. The use of a combined operation (silicone-gel prosthesis and a Small-Carrion prosthesis) in some of the cases is also presented.

Extended double-J ureteral stent.

Continent forms of urinary diversion using intestinal segments are becoming increasingly common. As this new treatment modality evolves, our instruments and mechanical devices are likewise evolving and adapting to the changing needs placed on them. We have used a new type of double-pigtail ureteral catheter in patients requiring continent urinary diversion. It allows stenting of the ureteral-intestinal anastomosis and safeguards against urinary leak or extravasation; at the same time the catheter is accessible to the outside for easy replacement, manipulation, and radiographic evaluation. The catheter has also shown to be useful for other purposes such as uretero-neo-cystostomy. This is particularly important in the pediatric population where repeated cystoscopy for stent removal or manipulation can be a significant drawback.

A method for intraoperative adjustment of sling tension: prevention of outlet obstruction during vaginal wall sling.

OBJECTIVES: To describe a simple, yet effective method of adjusting intraoperative tension on the suspending sutures of a vaginal wall sling placed for treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in the female patient. METHODS: A cystoscope sheath is placed per urethra and inclined to approximately 20 degrees to 30 degrees relative to horizontal. The suspension sutures are tied down directly onto the rectus fascia but do not indent it. The sheath should easily rotate in the vertical plane within the urethral lumen, maintaining elastic mobility as the sutures are tied. RESULTS: On review of the first 160 patients who have undergone vaginal wall sling using this technique of tension adjustment, no patient has had unexpected permanent urinary retention. Preoperative urgency incontinence has remained in 10 patients (less than 7%) postoperatively; 11 patients (6.8%) have had recurrent SUI during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Proper adjustment of suture tension during performance of a sling procedure for SUI is critical in preventing urethral obstruction. The technique described is simple, objective, reproducible, and highly effective.

Vaginal evisceration.

Vaginal evisceration is a rare complication of an enterocele. We report a patient who presented with spontaneous evisceration per vagina secondary to erosion through an attenuated vaginal wall. This resulted in a strangulated hernia requiring bowel resection and enterocele repair. This patient is discussed as are the risk factors and management options for patients with vaginal evisceration.