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Background: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetically determined intellectual disability. In recent decades, it has experienced an exponential increase in life expectancy, leading to a rise in age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Specific health plans for the comprehensive care of the DS community are an unmet need, which is crucial for the early and accurate diagnosis of main medical comorbidities. We present the protocol of a newly created clinical and research cohort and its feasibility in real life. Methods: The Down Syndrome—Basque Alzheimer Initiative (DS-BAI) is a population-based, inclusive, multidisciplinary initiative for the clinical-assistance and clinical-biological research approach to aging in DS led by the CITA-Alzheimer Foundation (Donostia, Basque Country). It aims to achieve the following: (1) provide comprehensive care for adults with DS, (2) optimize access to rigorous and quality training for socio-family and healthcare references, and (3) create a valuable multimodal clinical-biological research platform. Results: During the first year, 114 adults with DS joined the initiative, with 36% of them showing symptoms indicative of AD. Furthermore, adherence to training programs for healthcare professionals and families has been high, and the willingness to collaborate in basic and translational research has been encouraging. Conclusion: Specific health plans for DS and conducting clinical and translational research on the challenges of aging, including AD, are necessary and feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We evaluated the value of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) counted in Sysmex XN analyzers to predict the mobilization and collection of CD34+ cells in apheresis for stem cell transplantation. Methods: Eighty patients who underwent stem cell transplantation were enrolled (50 autologous and 30 allogeneic). In the autologous group, patients were considered poor mobilizers when the CD34+ count was <10 × 106/L or <20 × 106/L in patients with multiple myeloma who were going to undergo two transplants. ROC curves were generated, and HPC cutoffs were calculated. Results: The correlation between the HPC and CD34+ cell counts was good. Two algorithms were proposed. In the first algorithm, samples collected the day before apheresis, negative and positive HPC cutoffs were selected to detect poor and good mobilization and, therefore, the need or not to administer plerixafor. In the second algorithm, samples collected pre‐apheresis, the negative HPC cutoff was an indication to delay apheresis; an HPC higher than the optimal cutoff was an indication to start apheresis. When the HPC values were between these cutoffs, there was an indication to count CD34+ cells for a better decision‐making. Finally, in samples collected pre‐apheresis, HPC counts could be used to predict patients who would have poor CD34+ cell collections. In the allogeneic group, all the donors mobilized well, and very few needed two apheresis procedures. Conclusions: The HPC count is useful for decision‐making in the management of patients subjected to apheresis procedures to collect peripheral blood stem cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To present a retrospective, descriptive and observational study performed on a group of patients diagnosed with palpable undescended testicle (PUT) and surgically treated by pre-scrotal access, the "Bianchi technique"., Methods: The sample consists of a group of patients from 6 to 168 months old, diagnosed with palpable undescended testicle and treated by orchidopexy through pre-scrotal access Bianchi type (4), from January 2008 to June 2015 by the Pediatric Urology Equipment of Malaga, where the authors belong. To be part of the sample, the patients must meet the following requirements: male, diagnosis PUT, older than 6 months old and a minimum of 6 months of postoperative follow., Results: The sample is comprised of 200 testicles and 157 patients diagnosed with PUT, aged between 6 and 168 months old and treated by the same main surgeons. In a 72.62% of the patients the anomaly was unilateral. From the 200 testicles intervened, a 51.5% had PUT on the right side. Localization of the undescended testis was in the inguinal canal in a 64.5% of cases, 22.5% in the superficial inguinal canal and a 13% in the deep one. There weren't significant complications but in 4.5% of the cases there were minor complications that did not require treatment (cutaneous scrotal hematoma, 2.5%; scrotal skin edema, 1.5%, and partial dehiscence, 0.5%). Regarding the state of the scar, in 15.5% it's not visible, in 16% excellent, very good in 12.5% and only 1% had a bit of an hypertrophic aspect., Conclusions: This is a easy technique, which presents good surgical results, with minimum surgical complications, its short, medium and long term results are excellent and with a great aesthetic appearence.

Objectives: Five or six perforations of the abdominal wall increase the possibilities of organ injury, infection, or hernia. Laparoscopy originally offered great advantages and significant progress. Multiple abdominal ports are now considered superfluous, excessively traumatic and, today, hardly merit the term 'minimally-invasive-surgery'. All that led us to design a device to help surgeons meet new standards that can have several uses., Methods: The instrument is a 4 cm diameter, 5 cm long cannula. The superior extremity or lid has five 5 mm sealed openings, one for the telescope and four for instruments. Below the lid and its notched retaining screw is the tap to insufflate the operating field. The peripheral flange limits insertion depth and seals the skin wound. Lids with more or less openings are available. The device has been proven first in a simulator, and then five pigs between 20 and 30 kg have been operated. In the first two cases the cannula was introduced through the umbilicus and a cystostomy with suture was carried out. In the other three cases nephrectomy was performed inserting the cannula through the flank. RESULT The experimental series has allowed us to get adapted to the cannula; we have verified that diameter and length of the device are optimal, and vision is excellent. Also the device is hermetic, since there is no loss of gas and the instruments are not trapped inside, what has allowed us to work and to suture without special difficulty., Discussion: A single port through the abdomen or even transvaginally represent a real challenge to laparoscopy because in the 21st century to make 5 or 6 perforations in the abdominal wall appear untenable. Finally, with this system there are enormous possibilities for robotization with only one arm that includes the telescope and instruments, that sooner that we might imagine is going to revolutionize surgical practice.

Objective: We describe a most unusual urological emergency: a firearm wound in which the blunt-nosed hand-gun bullet was lodged in the prostate. A bibliographic search of the literature revealed no similar case., Methods: The patient was admitted presenting a gunshot wound with the entrance hole on the right buttock. There was no exit wound. An X-ray revealed the bullet behind the pubic symphysis. We introduced a suprapubic catheter and then carried out a laparotomy making a discharge colostomy Urethrogram revealed a pathway of contrast to the rectum. Several days later, we reached the bladder with an urethrotome and introduced an 18 Fr catheter. Under radiological control we made an open approach to the retropubic space, palpated the bullet within the prostate and then removed it., Discussion/conclusions: The velocity of a rifle or hand-gun bullet is the main determinant of the severity of this type of injury. As there was no exit wound, we knew that the entrance velocity was low, therefore tissue damage would probably be small. In these cases, a preparatory suprapubic cystostomy is essential to be able to carry out a urethral reconstruction later. Radiological control during the procedure proved extremely useful to precisely locate the bullet. Our conservative approach of simply leaving in place the catheter helped us later to avoid a difficult repair of a recto-urethral fistula.

Objectives: In endoscopic subcutaneous surgical procedures, new to Urology, the subcutaneous tissues are insufflated with carbon dioxide through a trocar to create working space without a surgical incision. Although this technique now predominates in surgery of the face, neck and breast, from the literature it appears that it has not yet been adopted for surgery in the region of the inguinal canal or in the scrotum. We describe these approaches., Methods: To carry out the inguinal canal approach we introduced three 5mm trocars and dissected the external oblique fascia until we identified the superficial inguinal ring and gained access to the scrotum. The scrotal approach is directly into the scrotum. To date, we have only used the scrotal approach to treat hydroceles. We carefully detached the tunica vaginalis from the scrotal wall and kept the tunica intact before puncturing it to empty the fluid contents. The tunica was then resected and withdrawn through a trocar., Results: We have removed three cysts and one solid tumor of the spermatic cord with the inguinal approach. With the scrotal approach we have treated six hydroceles. Our experience with these two small series allows us to confidently state that the procedure offers no particular technical difficulty; that operating times are short and that post-operative pain is very probably less than usual., Conclusions: Although endoscopic subcutaneous surgery in Urology is in its infancy, our results until now have been excellent and permit us to conclude that in the future there will be more indications for this type of surgery.

Objectives: Most advances in Surgery can now be seen to have been preceded by the invention of new instruments. Conventional surgery progressed as new instruments became available. Transurethral resections became routine following the introduction 80 years ago of the resectoscope: a highly revolutionary instrument at that time. Ureterorenoscopes and nephros- copes opened new windows of opportunity for urologists. When the therapeutic potential of extracorporeal lithotripsy, was first mentioned in the literature most surgeons thought it was mere science-fiction fantasy. Very soon however, this new technique, the fruit of close collaboration between urologists and engineers, became a common-place reality. Laparoscopy met with similar disbelief and the early applications gave rise to controversy and even consternation, yet only a few years later most of our urological surgical procedures have adopted this technique., Methods: At the beginning of the 20th century the astounding advances in engineering led many to forecast that before its end those systems might mimic human intelligence. However, many attempts to construct a rational thinking device revealed that even today this ambitious project was a still an unattainable dream. Consequently, attempts to design an autonomous urological surgical robot that might carry out unsupervised transurethral resections were unfruitful because the inherent and unpredictable complexity of surgical procedures obliges close and rigorous control by the surgeon. This important limitation led to the creation of 'master-slave' systems similar to those designed by our team in 1998 for transurethral resection. These are relatively simple tools and are infinitely safer than autonomous robots because they aim to effectively help the surgeon rather than replace him., Results/conclusions: The oft-repeated argument about whether or not a robot might ever replace the surgeon now has little sense because today it is merely a tool, an instrument for the surgeon's hands. The devices available today lack the all-important tactile feedback and to use them effectively, the surgeon is obliged to serve a new and arduous apprenticeship and the learning curve is unavoidably steep. Consequently, many prestigious authors understandably feel unable to recommend their use. Our accumulated experience with master-slave manipulators stimulates us to confidently predict that sooner than later, whether we like it or not, surgical robots will evolve to become indispensable tools that enhance the surgeon's skill, precision and speed in many surgical procedures.

Objectives: The usual laparoscopic hand assisted nephrectomy procedure requires either two or three trocars and a small incision to extract the organ. Our experience reveals that surgical invasion is significantly less when we use only one trocar and a retroperitoneal approach., Methods: We start with a small low oblique incision close to the pubis and insert a trocar over the iliac crest. When the kidney is free we grasp the undissected vascular pedicle between thumb and middle finger and without moving the inserted hand, we remove the telescope and introduce the stapler. The index finger is used blind to check that the stapler is correctly positioned before triggering. Finally, we divide the ureter in the same way We have carried out 74 nephrectomies with this procedure., Results: The mean operative time was 67.12 minutes. A retroperitoneal haematoma occurred in one patient and was drained by the same approach without further incident. One patient had an intestinal occlusion that in the reoperation was found to be caused by a loop of intestine trapped in a peritoneal tear: the postoperative was satisfactory. We lost one patient: an 89-year-old lady with a pyonephrosis and a retroperitoneal abscess. The operation was uneventful, but the patient died after five days; possibly because of septic shock. The other patients had no significant complications., Conclusions: The use of only one trocar markedly reduced operative invasion. The blind division en-bloc of the pedicle saves valuable time and does not offer any additional risk. The possibility of an arterio-venous fistula is remote because the stapler leaves the artery close to the vein, but separated from it. Cost is minimal because the surgeon only needs one trocar and a stapler. Consequently, we believe that this procedure with only one trocar could also be safely adopted for living donor nephrectomy

Objectives: Laparoscopic prostatectomy is the treatment of choice for localized prostate cancer. The learning curve for unexperienced teams is dauntingly steep because it is associated with high incidence of complications and such long operation times that the procedure becomes almost unacceptable. Therefore, we needed to seek an alternative for this operation that has been almost unmodified since first description in 1998., Methods: The patient is placed in lithotomy position and draped with an urological apron similar to the one used for transurethral resection. A beniqué sound is introduced up to the bladder and a 12 mm incision is made in the perineum, through which we slowly introduce the index finger touching the posterior aspect of the prostate. We advance the finger further longitudinally and laterally separating the rectum all the way to the bladder neck and prostatic pedicles on each side. Having freed the prostate, generally the most hazardous manoeuvre, we can then carry out a conventional laparoscopic prostatectomy, safely and quickly because the most difficult step, rectum dissection, has been carried out., Results: Digital separation of the prostate through a perineal incision facilitates the operation a lot and shortens operation times significantly, allowing us to avoid the use of one or two trocars. At this time, we can not present statistical analysis because our limited experience, but there are significant advantages making the procedure easier and operation time shorter. Furthermore, the technique may also be used for laparoscopic cystectomy., Conclusions: laparoscopic prostatectomy is considered a very difficult procedure, with an unacceptable high incidence of complications, being rectum perforation the most feared. Therefore, laparoscopic prostatectomy assisted by digital manipulation through a small perineal incision appears to be a most welcome development with benefits similar to those brought ten years ago by introduction of hand assisted laparoscopy.

Objective: In 1998, we designed a robot for transurethral resection that consisted of a master arm and a slave arm that reproduced the movements of the master. We describe the innovative master arm developed in two university departments that supersedes the mere "joystick" concept to become a true, operative surgical instrument., Methods: The new master arm was developed from a conventional resectoscope working element integrated into a robotic manipulative device and fitted with angular displacement sensors. Each sensor, part of a computer-controlled feed back system commands the position and movements of the slave arm which, in turn, move the resectoscope. The surgeon freely chooses and manages precisely within a three-dimensional surgical field four basic resectoscope maneuvers; horizontal and vertical displacement, penetration-withdrawal, and rotation; he also controls the movements and operation of the resectoscope cutting loop. Additional computer-programs provide the surgeon with an error-free, fail-safe surgical instrument that denies any movements outside the planned surgical field., Results: The fact that the new easily used instrument is similar in shape and works like conventional resectoscopes greatly helps familiarization and training. Advanced technology reduces the number of errors usually associated with fatigue or inexperience of the surgeon., Conclusions: The new surgical instrument handles just like conventional instruments so surgeons do not need to change their usual operating procedures. In addition, an early-warning program detects instantly and denies inappropriate maneuvers. This facility confers peace of mind to the surgeon and ensures patient satisfaction.

Objectives: To review the development of laparoscopic varicocelectomy from our initial description in 1986 based in the first pioneering works of K. Semm and to describe our latest microlaparoscopic technique that uses 3 mm instruments., Methods: We use 3 mm reusable trocars with a specially designed telescope and instruments. One port is in the umbilicus the others are in the flanks at this level. Spermatic vessels are identified by firm traction of the testicle. The peritoneum is incised transversally at this level to dissect and ligate the two or three veins usually found here. To shorten operation time and improve results the vascular bundle is ligated en-bloc and when it is bulky, we divide it into two smaller bundles before tying the knot., Results: Field of vision and image brightness is adequate and allows the operator to suture with great precision and ease. Large angular movements of the 3 mm telescope should be made with its trocar. Image brightness depends on the proximity of the lens to the structure being inspected; it worsens when the lens is withdrawn even slightly. Reusable 3 mm instruments can be used hundreds of times and with care they have sufficient strength to permit tying tight even en-bloc ligatures of vascular bundles. Operating times are between 20 and 25 minutes, bilateral operations need about 10 minutes more. Wounds made by the 3 mm trocars are usually self-closing and rarely need to stitch., Conclusions: Many authors confirm that since we first described the technique 15 years ago laparoscopic varicocelectomy is a safe, quick and easy minimal invasive procedure, less expensive than open techniques or occlusion under radiological control. The Palomo retroperitoneal approach using en-bloc ligatures of the vascular pedicle laparoscopically shortens operative times, the percentage of failures is minimum and postoperative testicular volumes and sperm counts increase. The microlaparoscopic technique not only reduces surgical aggression, but also the risk of complications is less and it does not increase operative difficulty or operation time.

Objective: This work is reported to encourage experienced urologists to take advantage of a laparoscopic nephrectomy technique that has evolved into a remarkably inexpensive, uncomplicated routine procedure almost comparable with the gallbladder operations of general surgery., Methods: The patient is placed in the lumbotomy position. The unsleeved, uncuffed hand is introduced through a mini-McBurney incision in the iliac fossa. The first 12 mm trocar is introduced just above the posterior part of the iliac crest. The second is placed anteriorly some 10 to 12 cm from the first. The kidney is released by extraperitoneal manual dissection. The artery is clipped and sectioned and then, without dissecting the vein, the rest of the pedicle is sectioned en bloc with the endostapler. However, if the artery is not found, then the whole pedicle is sectioned en bloc. Lastly, the ureter is sectioned. The kidney is then introduced into a simple plastic bag (open urine bag) and digitally fragmented for easy removal through the incision., Results/conclusions: The oblique McBurney incision is also useful in the event reconversion to an open lumbotomy is necessary. As we described in 1994, manual manipulation significantly simplifies the procedure. Operators soon gain confidence when they appreciate in practice the surprising versatility of the technique. Because most of the procedure is done under visual control, operator precision soon increases and successive operation times shorten considerably. Operation costs are lower because an expensive inflatable cuff or sleeve is unnecessary, only two trocars are required and a standard urine bag serves to receive the kidney. We are sure that once urologists experienced in conventional surgery try the procedure, they will wonder why they did not adopt it earlier.