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Objective: To examine one academic institution's experiences with SpaceOAR placement, its associated complications, and periprocedural characteristics that affect outcomes for the purpose of quality improvement., Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 233 patients who received SpaceOAR from four surgeons and one radiation oncologist between 2018 and 2021. Variables such as demographics, oncologic parameters, radiation plan, and radiographic assessment of hydrogel placement were recorded. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was used to assess comorbidity risk. Mann-Whitney and Fisher's exact tests were performed to compare patients with and without complications., Results: Of the 233 patients who received SpaceOAR, 24 (10.3%) experienced toxicity. All complications were Clavien I or II, such as pelvic pain postplacement, pelvic fullness, bleeding, and lower urinary tract symptoms. 16 patients (6.9%) had some portion of the hydrogel injected into the rectal wall, but it was never clinically significant. The average CCI was 3.2 ± 0.95 for patients who experienced complications; the average CCI was 3.6 ± 1.6 ( p =0.48) in the group without complications. Of the physicians with higher procedure volumes, Physician #1 had the highest rate of patient-reported complications at 11 out of 68 (16.2%) and Physician #2 had the lowest rate of complications at 4 out of 96 placements (4.2%). Multivariate analysis found that patients who had received hormone therapy previously had less odds of reporting complications after SpaceOAR placement., Conclusions: The listed attending on the procedure had a significant correlation to complications with SpaceOAR placement on univariate analysis, and hormone therapy had some benefits to the tolerance for the procedure on multivariate analysis. Overall, the hydrogel placement was well tolerated with low incidence of mild and transient procedure-related toxicity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Kerith R. Wang et al.)

Background and Objective: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common condition in men, and many patients refractory to conservative treatment may undergo penile prostheses (PPs) placement. The primary concern following PP implantation is device infection. Although antibiotic and hydrophilic coatings have reduced the incidence of inflatable PP (IPP) infections, there remains room for improvement. Optimization of PP outcomes requires a practical in vivo model to better understand mechanisms of infection and to test new infection control strategies. We aimed to describe a new rabbit model which contains a functional IPP and review previously reported animal PP models., Methods: An IPP was placed into rabbit flanks and cycled for functionality testing. Rabbits were evaluated for signs of pain and distress over 14 days. Separately, narrative review methodology was utilized to search the PubMed and Scopus databases for all publications through March 21, 2023, which studied PP within an in vivo setting. Three independent reviewers ultimately selected 12 papers from 1992-2021 for inclusion., Key Content and Findings: Several animal studies highlighted the initial functionality or feasibility of devices for ED before their introduction in the clinical setting. There are several subsequent studies aimed at optimizing the type of antibiotic use or coating material using segments of PP material in an in vivo setting. However, the literature lacks a contemporary animal model containing a functional IPP. Our novel rabbit model offers a safe, practical way to implant a functioning IPP and investigate new perioperative infection prevention and treatment strategies before trials in the clinical setting., Conclusions: Animal models have played a key role in testing medical devices, including PPs, prior to their clinical introduction. Our review uncovered no modern animal studies involving placement of a functional PP. A new animal model can facilitate study of evolving microorganism profiles, novel methods to enhance antibiotic delivery, and proposed treatment options., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tau.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tau-23-353/coif). The series “Genitourinary Prosthesis Infection” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. P.H.C. served as the unpaid Guest Editor of the series and serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Translational Andrology and Urology. P.H.C. consults for and receives research support from Coloplast and Boston Scientific. C.E.W. is a clinical consultant for Bracco Diagnostics and Canon Medical Systems USA. N.J.H. consults for SINTX technologies. F.F. receives research support from Bracco, the Butterfly Network, Canon Medical Systems USA, GE HealthCare, Lantheus Medical Imaging and Siemens Healthineers. He is also a consultant or advisor for Exact Therapeutics, Lantheus, Longeviti Neuro Solutions and Sonothera. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 Translational Andrology and Urology. All rights reserved.)

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common diagnosis, of which a notable portion of patients present with an extension into the venous circulation causing an inferior vena cava (IVC) tumor thrombus. Venous extension has significant implications for staging and subsequent treatment planning, with recommendations for more aggressive surgical removal, although associated surgical morbidity and mortality is relatively increased. The methods for surgical removal of RCC with IVC thrombus remain complex, particularly surrounding the use of robot-assisted surgery. Robot assistance for radical nephrectomy in this context is recently emerging. Thrombus level has important implications for surgical technique and prognosis. Other preoperative considerations may include location, laterality, size, and wall invasion. The urology literature on treatment of such tumors is largely limited to case series and institutional studies that describe the feasibility of various surgical options for these complex tumors. Further understanding of the outcomes and patient-specific risk factors would shed increased light on the optimal treatment for such cases. This narrative review provides a thorough overview on the previously reported use of robot-assisted nephrectomy in RCC with IVC thrombus to inform further studies which may optimize outcomes and guide shared decision-making.

There remains debate surrounding partial (PN) versus radical nephrectomy (RN) for T1b-T2 renal cell carcinoma (RCC). PN offers nephron-sparing benefits but involves increased perioperative complications. RN putatively maximizes oncologic benefit with complex tumors. We analyzed newly available nephrectomy-specific NSQIP data to elucidate predictors of perioperative outcomes in localized T1b-T2 RCC. We identified 2094 patients undergoing nephrectomy between 2019-2020. Captured variables include surgical procedure and approach, staging, comorbidities, prophylaxis, peri-operative complications, reoperations, and readmissions. 816 patients received PN while 1278 received RN. Reoperation rates were comparable; however, PN patients more commonly experienced 30-day readmissions (7.0% vs. 4.7%, p = 0.026), bleeds (9.19% vs. 5.56%, p = 0.001), renal failure requiring dialysis (1.23% vs. 0.31%, p = 0.013) and urine leak or fistulae (1.10% vs. 0.31%, p = 0.025). Infectious, pulmonary, cardiac, and venothromboembolic event rates were comparable. Robotic surgery reduced occurrence of various complications, readmissions, and reoperations. PN remained predictive of all four complications upon multivariable adjustment. Several comorbidities were predictive of complications including bleeds and readmissions. This population-based cohort explicates perioperative outcomes following nephrectomy for pT1b-T2 RCC. Significant associations between PN, patient-specific factors, and complications were identified. Risk stratification may inform management to improve post-operative quality of life (QOL) and RCC outcomes.

Introduction: Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) has emerged as a definitive therapy for localized prostate cancer (PCa). However, more data is needed to predict patient prognosis to help guide which patients will benefit most from treatment. The FACIT-Fatigue (FACIT-F) is a well validated, widely used survey for assessing fatigue. However, the role of fatigue in predicting PCa survival has yet to be studied. Herein, we investigate the role of FACIT-F as a baseline predictor for overall survival (OS) in patients undergoing SBRT for localized PCa., Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of 1358 patients who received SBRT monotherapy between January 2008 to April 2021 at an academic, tertiary referral center. FACIT-F scores (range 0 to 52) were summed for patients who answered all 13-items on the survey. FACIT-F total scores of ≥35 represented severe fatigue. Patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy were excluded. Differences in fatigue groups were evaluated using chi-squared tests. OS rates were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and predictors of OS were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard method., Results: Baseline full FACIT-F scores and survival data was available for 891 patients. 5-year OS was 87.6% and 95.2%, respectively, for the severely fatigued and non-fatigued groups. Chi-squared analysis of fatigue groups showed no significant difference in the following categories: D'Amico risk group, age, ethnicity, grade group, T-stage, or PSA density. Severe fatigue was associated with a significant decrease in OS (hazard ratio 2.76; 95%CI 1.55 - 4.89). The Cox proportional hazard model revealed that age and FACIT-F were both statistically significant (p <0.05)., Conclusion: Baseline FACIT-F scores are significantly associated with OS. Higher FACIT-F scores, representing less fatigued patients, are associated with an overall survival benefit. These results indicate that the FACIT-F survey could serve as an additional metric for clinicians in determining prognostic factors for patients undergoing SBRT., Competing Interests: SC is a consultant for Accuray, Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Simhal, Sholklapper, Simhal, Zwart, Danner, Kumar, Aghdam, Suy, Hankins, Kowalczyk and Collins.)

Here, we report a case of a patient in their mid 30s who presented with an elevated creatinine and was found to have a massive bladder diverticulum. The patient underwent a robotic-assisted diverticulectomy. They were later found to have a primary bladder neck obstruction on video urodynamics, and subsequently, underwent bladder neck incision, leading to significant improvement in urinary symptoms. Primary bladder neck obstruction is an overlooked cause of bladder diverticulum. While cystoscopy and cross-sectional imaging are frequently used in the initial evaluation of bladder diverticula, in the absence of an anatomic obstruction such as prostate enlargement, video urodynamics should be performed to assess for primary bladder neck obstruction., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)