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II trapianto renale e il trattamento di scelta nel paziente in fase finale di patologia renale. Grazie allo sviluppo di metodi di prelievo piu sicuri e all’immunosoppressione e stato possibile ottenere un miglioramento notevole dei risultati in questi ultimi anni, sia per il donatore sia per il ricevente. Un rene prelevato da donatore vivente rimane il fattore piu importante per la sopravvivenza del ricevente e dell’impianto. La tecnica della nefrectomia laparoscopica su donatore vivente ha rivoluzionato il trapianto renale e permette, riducendo la morbilita chirurgica pur mantenendo le possibilita di un buon risultato nel ricevente, di aumentare il numero dei donatori. Questa tecnica e diventata il metodo di prelievo di riferimento nei centri di trapianti in tutto il mondo a dispetto della sua difficolta tecnica e del suo processo di maturazione sempre in corso, particolarmente presto nella curva di apprendimento. Le vecchie controindicazioni alla nefrectomia laparoscopica del donatore non sono piu assolute. Questo capitolo descrive in dettaglio la procedura laparoscopica nel donatore, in particolare la valutazione preoperatoria e la tecnica operatoria. Viene presentata anche una revisione della letteratura al fine di individuare, in confronto con le vecchie tecniche di prelievo, i diversi aspetti relativi tanto al donatore che al ricevente in termini di morbilita e di mortalita.

El trasplante renal es el tratamiento de eleccion para los pacientes que presentan una nefropatia en fase terminal. Gracias al desarrollo de unos metodos de extraccion mas seguros y a la inmunosupresion, en estos ultimos anos se ha logrado una mejoria notable de los resultados, tanto para el donante como para el receptor. Un rinon extraido de un donante vivo sigue siendo el factor principal para la supervivencia del receptor y del implante. La tecnica de nefrectomia laparoscopica en donante vivo ha revolucionado el trasplante renal al permitir aumentar el numero de donantes gracias a la disminucion de la morbilidad quirurgica a la vez que mantiene unas posibilidades de buenos resultados en el receptor. Esta tecnica se ha convertido en el metodo de extraccion de referencia en los centros de trasplante de todo el mundo, a pesar de sus dificultades tecnicas y de su proceso de maduracion en continuo desarrollo, que aun esta en la fase inicial de la curva de aprendizaje. Las antiguas contraindicaciones de la nefrectomia laparoscopica del donante ya no son absolutas. En este articulo se describira con detalle el procedimiento laparoscopico en el donante (sobre todo la valoracion preoperatoria) y la tecnica quirurgica. Tambien se presentara una revision de la literatura para delimitar, en comparacion con las antiguas tecnicas de extraccion, los distintos aspectos relativos tanto al donante como al receptor en terminos de morbilidad y de mortalidad.

Colonic and duodenal perforations, albeit rare, are known complications of PCNL; however, to our knowledge, jejunal perforation has never been reported. We report a case of an 83-year-old man, underwent left PCNL for a 2cm stone in the renal pelvis, confirmed to have a jejunal perforation. He was successfully managed conservatively. His diagnostic work up and management will be discussed.

Objectives: It remains controversial whether we can apply similar principles in the management of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT-UC) based on the behavior of bladder urothelial carcinoma (B-UC). We sought to assess whether UUT-UC and B-UC have similar biology and performed a stage-by-stage comparative analysis of outcome between the 2 groups. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on patients who underwent nephroureterectomy for UUT-UC and radical cystectomy for B-UC from 1991 to 2006. Standard variables were collected and recurrence-free and overall survival (OS) rates were calculated. Results: 280 patients with a median age of 69 years were included (99 UUT-UC treated via nephroureterectomy and 181 B-UC treated via radical cystectomy). Median follow-up was 29 months. None received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients with UUT-UC presented less commonly with invasive disease compared to those with B-UC (44 vs. 77% were >pT2). Overall, 5-year OS for the B-UC group was significantly lower than for the UUT-UC group (60.8 vs. 74.5%, p = 0.02). However, when patients were stratified by stage (>pT2), patients with B-UC had similar OS compared to those with UUT-UC (54.6 vs. 60.8%, p = 0.74). Conclusion: Invasive UUT-UC appears to have similar tumor biology compared to B-UC. Whether we can safely extrapolate on the benefit of neoadjuvant and adjuvant strategies to patients with UUT-UC requires further investigation.

Kidney transplantation is the therapeutic option of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease. With the advent of safer harvesting techniques and immunosuppression, both donor and recipient outcomes have markedly improved in recent years. Kidney donation from Living donors remains the single most important factor responsible for improving patient and graft survival. The laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has revolutionized renal transplantation, allowing expansion of the donor pool by diminishing surgical morbidity while maintaining equivalent recipient outcome. This technique is now becoming the gold-standard harvesting procedure in transplant centres worldwide, despite its technical challenge and ongoing procedural maturation, especially early in the learning curve. Previous contraindications to laparoscopic donor nephrectomy are no longer absolute. In the following analysis, the procedural aspects of the laparoscopic donor nephrectomy are detailed including pre-operative assessment, operative technique and a review of the current literature delineating aspects of both donor and recipient morbidity and mortality compared with open harvesting techniques.

To assess the efficacy of CT angiography (CTA) in evaluating the renovascular anatomy in 50 patients who underwent laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, and to correlate results with donor morbidity and recipient outcome.Forty-eight patients were evaluated by CTA prior to laparoscopy. Donors with aberrant renovasculature and their respective recipients were divided into: 1) accurate preoperative CTA ("predictive group", PG), 2) inaccurate CTA ("non-predictive group", NPG). Warm ischemia times (WIT), estimated blood loss (EBL), operative time (OT), and the open conversion rate were compared. Recipient creatinine values on post-operative day 1 and 3 months were recorded with the rate of delayed graft function (DGF) and ureteral complication. Statistical significance was calculated using the student's T-test.Among patients with aberrant vasculature (48%, 23/48) at laparoscopy, 14 were accurately predicted by CT angiography (11 arterial, 3 venous). NPG consisted of 5 duplicated arteries, 1 early arterial branching, and 3 anomalous veins. CT accuracy was 85%. The sensitivity and specificity of the arterial imaging were 65% and 100% respectively, while those of venous imaging were 50% and 100%. EBL, WIT, OT, number of open conversions, and ureteral complications were statistically insignificant between groups (p= 0.05, 95% C.I.). The mean decreases in creatinine between NPG and PG on post-operative day 1 and at 3 months were 45.4% and 54.8%, and 71.5% and 79.1% respectively, both statistically insignificant. Two of 8 in the NPG experienced DGF as compared to 1/8 in the PG.Despite the lower sensitivity of this study, the discordance between imaging and laparoscopy did not augment donor morbidity or increase adverse recipient outcomes. This may indicate that regardless of the shortcomings of 2-D CTA for living donors, it represents a safe and effective imaging modality when coupled with meticulous laparoscopic dissection and central intraoperative involvement of the transplant surgeon.

This case illustrates the involvement of lymph nodes in a patient with histologically proven malakoplakia of the urinary bladder. The nodes appeared hyperdense at CT and hyperintense at MR.

To assess telomerase activity (involved in cell immortalization and detectable in most malignant tumours but not in normal somatic tissues) as a marker in cancer diagnosis.Tissue telomerase activity was assayed by two different techniques, the telomeric repeat amplification protocol-polymerase chain reaction (TRAP-PCR) and a telomerase PCR-enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Malignant and inflammatory bladder lesions and their adjacent normal tissues were assessed for telomerase activity in a group of 18 patients, 14 of whom had urothelial carcinoma and four a nonspecific inflammatory lesion of the bladder.Eleven of the 14 tumour samples analysed were telomerase-positive and two of the three telomerase-negative tumour samples had a detectable 'telomerase inhibitor'. In the apparently normal tissues next to bladder tumours, four of the 14 specimens were telomerase-positive. Interestingly, these lesions were always next to high-grade muscle-invasive bladder tumours (pT2G3). Two of the four nonspecific inflammatory lesions (one of cystitis glandularis and one of severe dysplasia), known to be preneoplastic lesions, were also telomerase-positive.These results strongly suggest that the reactivation of telomerase may be an early event in bladder carcinogenesis, preceding morphological changes related to malignant transformation. Telomerase activity may therefore be useful both as an indicator of malignant potential in preneoplastic lesions, e.g. cystitis glandularis and severe dysplasia, and as a prognostic marker of bladder tumour relapse or progression.

Administrative texts published in 1995, 1996 and 1997, have reinforced materiovigilance and impose disinfection precautions for endoscopes. The steps of disinfection of non-sterilizable endoscopes are: preliminary treatment, rinsing, actual disinfection, final rinsing, storage (see: Progrès en Urologie, 1997, 7, 505-507). Each procedure from collection of the endoscope until storage must be defined by written standard operating procedures validated by CLIN. The risk of transmission of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease requires autoclaving, which is only possible, at the present time, with the most recent rigid endoscopes. Until disinfection has become generalized, the traceability of endoscopes (labelling, utilization files) must be established on the model recommended for haemovigilance (circular of 02/04/96).

Although surgery remains the treatment of reference for symptomatic benign hypertrophy of the prostate, the requirement for locoregional anaesthesia, the risk of complications and the major financial burden for the health care system have led to research into alternative therapies. Basically two categories have been developed, thermal and mechanical. The sensitivity of the hypertrophic prostate tissue to heat depends both on histology and blood flow. It is generally accepted that temperatures60 degrees C do not cause definitive tissue damage, that thoseor = 60 degrees C lead to necrose of the coagulated tissue andor = 100 degrees C cells are vaporized producing tissue debris. Currently, thermoablation (temperature60 degrees C) is the only thermal alternative which gives results within a range comparable with classical surgery. The more simple techniques (microwaves, focalized ultrasounds, interstitial radiofrequency waves, lateral or interstitial laser) have the disadvantage of aggravating symptomatology in certain patients, limiting indications. More sophisticated techniques (contact radiofrequency, contact laser) still need improvement to reach the level of surgery. Mechanical alternatives include resorbable and non-resorbable stents and dilatation. Stents are a particularly promising route but have the inconvenience of being difficult to implant and sometimes leading to complications (infection, incrustation, calcification). Dilatation procedures have been tried for many years using various methods of control, but results have been disappointing to date. Surgery thus remains the reference treatment for benign hypertrophy of the prostate, but ongoing research emphasizes the need for successful alternatives.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performances of the Storz Modulith SL20 lithotriptor. Fifty patients with a total of 52 renal (31) or ureteric (21) stones were treated, in a single session, between June and October 1993. The mean stone diameter was 7.9 mm. All patients were reviewed after 3 months. The complete success rate, with radiological cure, was 65% at 3 months. The partial success rate, defined as fragmentation of the stone with persistence of residual fragments less than 3 mm in diameter, not requiring further treatment, was 12% at 3 months. The failure rate at 3 months was 23%. The commonest complication was renal colic in 12 patients (24%). Two patients developed an extrarenal haematoma. The Modulith SL20 possesses a good detection system: firing is well tolerated under minimal analgesia. Our success rates are slightly lower than those obtained by other teams using the same apparatus.

Fifty five women with a mean age of 59 years, suffering from urinary stress incontinence (U.S.I.), were treated by endoscopic percutaneous cervicocystopexy (Stamey's operation), 39 patients (71%) suffered from pure U.S.I. and 16 (29%) presented a combination of stress and urge incontinence. Bonney's manoeuvre was positive in every case. With a mean follow-up of 21.5 months, 30 patients (58.8%) were completely continent, 9 (17.6%) presented occasional incontinence with intense effort, 12 (23.5%) were failures and 4 patients were lost to follow-up. The complications were minimal. The results were less favourable in patients with a history of pelvic surgery, particularly for correction of U.S.I., associated urge incontinence, detrusor hyperactivity or low urethral closure pressure, although one half of the patients in this group were nevertheless cured. Stamey's operation is a simple, reliable, easily reproducible technique which gives good results at the cost of low morbidity, short hospital stay and a low cost.

The incidence of renal stones in pregnant women is 1 in 1500. The diagnosis may be made more difficult by the particular anatomo-physiological conditions of pregnancy. Ultrasonography is not always sufficient to localise the stone and can be completed by intravenous urography, which is not contraindicated in pregnant women. In more than one half of cases, the stones are eliminated spontaneously during conservative treatment. The urologist may need to intervene in the case of complicated stones: internal or external urinary diversion is generally sufficient to palliate the problem until term. As extracorporeal lithotripsy is contraindicated in pregnant women, some authors recommend ureteroscopy or percutaneous nephrolithotomy when radical treatment is required. Surgical treatment is very rarely indicated.

Six female patients with a mean age of 40 years presenting with a suburethral diverticulum were treated between August 1990 and October 1992. The commonest functional symptoms were recurrent urinary tract infections (2/3 of cases) and post-voiding urethral discharge (1/2 of cases). Clinical examination revealed a tender anterior vaginal mass in only one half of cases. Only retrograde and voiding cystourethrography and transvaginal ultrasonography always demonstrated a direct or indirect image of the diverticulum. The suburethral diverticulum was resected via a transvaginal approach in the ventral supine position after sterilisation of the urine by prolonged antibiotic therapy. Urine drainage was generally ensured by a suprapubic catheter allowing antegrade cystography on the 15th day, prior to clamping then removal of the catheter. All but one of the patients immediately regained satisfactory micturition without dysuria or stress incontinence. Restoration of micturition was delayed in one patient with feelings of incomplete bladder emptying, but she urinated normally at three months. Postoperative imaging (retrograde and voiding cystourethrography, transvaginal ultrasonography) demonstrated resolution of the diverticulum in 5 cases. One patient had persistent signs of a small, residual diverticulum on antegrade cystography on the 15th day. Suburethral diverticulum is a rare disease of middle-aged women for which transvaginal surgical excision in the ventral supine position gives very good results.

The authors report the preliminary results of a study on the use of perineal sonography with a vaginal probe as a complement to urodynamic investigation, in patients with stress urinary incontinence or other urinary symptoms. This technique seems useful especially in stress urinary incontinence to precise the existence and the importance of bladder neck hypermobility, and in the evaluation of post-opérative outcome after surgical suspension of the bladder neck.

Fifteen paraplegic patients all presenting with vesico-sphincteric dyssynergia underwent, between January and September 1990, a urodynamic and electromyographic examination combined with pre-voiding or voiding transrectal ultrasonography. The ultrasound apparatus used was a Siemens Sonoline SL1 with a MHz linear intracavitary probe giving a strictly longitudinal plane of section. The urodynamic apparatus used was a Wiest 6000 with a Böhler 7 F urethral catheter and an electromyography needle-electrode implanted in the striated sphincter. This type of ultrasonography provided a precise and dynamic image of the bladder neck, prostatic urethra and external striated sphincter during the phases of filling and voiding. Spastic contractions of the striated sphincter during detrusor contraction were observed in 8 patients with an intermittent and jerky urinary stream. In 7 patients, the striated sphincter remained closed during detrusor contraction and only opened briefly as soon as detrusor contraction decreased, allowing only a weak and transient flow. By allowing the direct visualisation of the sphincteric obstruction during voiding, dynamic transrectal ultrasonography clearly confirmed the diagnosis of vesico-sphincteric dyssynergia. In contrast with classical voiding cystourethrography, this is a non-invasive, inexpensive and, most importantly, repeatable technique, as it does not require any irradiation. It is therefore suitable for drug evaluation trials, particularly of alpha-blockers and to assess one of the many treatments proposed in vesico-sphincteric dyssynergia.