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Introduction: BCG and MMC shortage and Covid-19 pandemic, more recently, limit accessibility to maintenance regimen in intravesical prophylaxis against recurrence of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Ellagic acid (EA) and Annona muricata (AM) exert antitumor activity against different human tumours. An observational prospective study on the prophylactic effect of oral administration of EA+AM in patients avoiding maintenance regimen is presented. Materials and methods: Patients affected by NMIBC and not undergoing maintenance after a 6-week course of intravesical prophylaxis with MMC or BCG were entered. Tis and very high-risk tumours were excluded. After informed consent, the patients were subdivided in relation to the oral assumption or not of EA (100 mg) plus AM (100 mg), daily for 6 months. All patients were submitted to 3-month cytology and cystoscopy. Results: 162 (90%) of 180 entered patients are evaluable, 90 and 72 receiving or not EA+AM. No difference emerged in patients’ characteristics between the two groups. BCG was given in 86 (54%) and chemotherapy in 74 (46%) patients. The recurrence free rate at 3, 6 and 12 months in patients assuming or not EA was 96.5% versus 84.6% ( p = 0.003), 85.4% versus 64.8% ( p = 0.005) and 74.2% versus 60.6% ( p = 0.246), respectively. The recurrence free survival at 12 months in patients assuming or not EA was 63.0% versus 34.5% ( p Discussion and conclusions: Our study suffers several limits: not randomized trial although prospective, limited number of patients and short follow-up, nevertheless it shows the prophylactic effect of oral EA+AM in absence of maintenance after intravesical chemotherapy or immunotherapy induction.

Introduction: Since COVID-19 pandemic spread, strict preventive measures were adopted to reduce the risk of transmission. Antiseptic dispensers for hand hygiene were diffusely available for patients and hospital staff. To investigate the prophylactic role played by the strict antiseptic rules adopted during pandemic, the rates of nosocomial urinary infections in 2019 and 2020 were compared. Materials and methods: Patients’ clinical pre-operative characteristics, symptoms, fever, and laboratory data were recorded pre- and post-operatively. Urological surgery was classified in five categories: 1. major surgery 2. upper urinary tract endoscopy, 3. lower urinary tract endoscopy, 4. minor surgery, and 5. Nephrostomy and ureteral stenting. Clavien-Dindo complication score was used. Statistical analysis was performed with R 3.4.2 software. Results: Out of 495 patients, 383 (57.1%) underwent surgical intervention in pre-pandemic March–May 2019 period and 212 (42.9%) in the same pandemic 2020 interval. Preoperatively, 40 (14.1%) and 11 (5.2%) and 77 (27.3%) and 37 (17.5%) patients had fever ( p Discussion and conclusion: Preoperative and post-operative clinical and laboratory signs of nosocomial urinary infection showed a statistically significant lower incidence during the pandemic period in 2020. This observation could be ascribed to the strong preventive measures, to the medical staff high adherence to hygiene and the diffuse availability of hand sanitizers.

Introduction Three-dimensional (3D) laparoscopy with a flexible camera was developed to overcome the main limitation of traditional laparoscopic surgery, which is two-dimensional (2D) vision. The aim of our article is to present the largest casistic of 3D laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) available in literature and evaluate our results in terms of pentafecta and compare it with the literature. Methods We retrospectively evaluated consecutive patients who underwent LRP with 3D technology between March 2014 and December 2015. Total operative time (TOT), anasthomosis time (AT), blood loss and complications were registered. All patients presented at least 3 months of follow-up. Surgical outcome was evaluated in terms of Pentafecta. Results One hundred fifty consecutive patients underwent 3D LRP. Mean follow-up was 16.9 months. Mean age was 67.7 ± 8.3 years (range 50-76). Mean preoperative PSA value was 8.3 ± 5.8 ng/ml and mean bioptic Gleason Score (GS) was 6.6. We had a mean TOT of 158 ± 23 minutes and a mean AT of 25 ± 12.6. Mean blood loss was 240 ± 40 ml. Eighteen (12%) postoperative complications occurred. Pathologic results: pT2 in 91 patients (58%) and pT3 in 59 (39.3%). Pentafecta was reached by 31.3% of patients at 3 months and 51.6% at 12 months. Conclusions Our oncological and functional results are comparable to those present in literature for laparoscopic and robotic surgery. We believe that our findings can encourage the use of 3D laparoscopy especially considering the increasing attention to healthcare costs.

We retrospectively evaluated the intraoperative and early postoperative complications of the initial experience with the first 80 laparoscopic radical prostatectomies performed at our institution. Between January 17, 2001 and July 24, 2002, 80 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer underwent transperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. The pathological tumor stage revealed 18 pT2a (22.5%), 29 pT2b (36.25%), 21 pT3a (26.25%), 10 pT3b (12.5%), 1 pT4 (1.25%), 1 pT4 N1 (1.25%). No conversion was necessary in all cases. Injury to the epigastric vessels was detected intraoperatively in 5 cases (6.25%) with immediate hemostatis achieved. There was 1 death (1.25%) 35 days after a cerebrovascular accident occurred on postoperative day 3. We observed 1 (1.25%) postoperative ileus, hemoperitoneum in 5 cases (6.25%), 2 (2.5%) acute urinary retentions, 6 (7.5%) anastomotic leakages, 1 (1.25%) anastomotic stricture, 1 (1.25%) hydrocele and 2 (2.5%) urinary tract infections. In our initial experience laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was performed with no complications in 77.5% of patients. We observed major and minor complications respectively in 16.25% and 6.25% of the patients. Our series provides evidence that the laparoscopic approach during a learning curve is feasible and associated with acceptable morbidity.

After anatomical and surgical studies on cadavers we developed a combined technique for radical cystoprostatectomy with orthotopic ileal neobladder labelled M.I. La. N. (Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic Neobladder). The aim of this technique is to combine the advantages of open and laparoscopic surgery. Between June 2001 and July 2002, 6 men aged 65 to 72 underwent combined radical cystoprostatectomy with orthotopic ileal neobladder for organ-confined bladder cancer. The M.I. La.N. consists of 3 steps: 1) laparoscopic radical cystoprostatectomy and bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection; 2) external partial fashioning of the neobladder and side-to-side bowel anastomosis; 3) laparoscopic lower urinary tract reconstruction. The mean time of the overall procedure was 425 minutes (range 360 to 510). Mean estimated blood loss was 312 mL (range 220 to 440). Mean hospital stay was 8.1 days (range 7 to 9). Histopathology revealed 1 pT1N0 G3 plus carcinoma in situ (Cis), 1 pT2aN0 G3 plus Cis, 4 pT2bN0 G2-3. The surgical margins were tumor free. At the time of analysis (October 2003) the mean follow-up is 18.1 months (range 15 to 21). Two patients respectively stage pT1N0 + Cis and pT2bN0 G2-3 died for metastatic disease at 20 and 18 months after the operation. One patient stage pT2aN0 plus Cis died for unrelated causes free from disease after 16 months from the procedure. The remaining 3 patients are alive and free from disease. The combined technique for radical cystoprostatectomy with orthotopic ileal neobladder (“M.I. La. N.”) can reproduce open surgery. Moreover, it provides an anatomic approach, familiar to most urologist and anatomical landmarks are easy to follow. In our opinion, the combined approach does not reduce the advantages of laparoscopy. We know that this technique may require a long learning curve and it is still a pioneristic procedure. A strict follow up is necessary to evaluate the oncological outcome that is still unpredictable for the low number of treated patients and for biology of bladder cancer.

We describe the case of a 34-year-old patient, polytraumatized during a motorcycle accident. The patient reported complete urethral rupture, bilateral avulsion of the testes by the scrotum, subtotal avulsion with complete amputation of the corpora cavernosa, and a deep open perineal wound. The reconstruction, performed by urologists, was postponed to the following day to ensure high standard of treatment with appropriate tools. This choice has yielded a good aesthetic and functional result.

Transurethral vaporisation of the prostate plays a leading role among the techniques for BPH treatment. Between April and December 1995 the authors treated 49 patients with BPH, all of whom benefited immediately. Assessment at the 12-month follow-up highlighted a reduction in IPSS to 7 and an increase in mean PFR to 23 ml/s. Complications were minimal. The immediate advantages of EVAP are widely acknowledged: little bleeding, absence of TUR syndrome, short catheter drainage, shorter hospitalisation and lower costs. The good PFR and IPSS values at 12 months confirm the effectiveness and safety of this technique, making it, in our opinion, even more interesting and less invasive for the surgical management of BPH.

Failure of a Foley balloon to deflate is a rare complication that can be initially managed with various non invasive procedures. If the balloon remains inflated, direct puncture of the balloon may be required. We describe a minimally invasive percutaneous transperineal transprostatic balloon puncture.