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These three cases exemplify, in increasing order of complexity, how the common sense application of already successful techniques might be applied to augment the chance of pregnancy in this group of patients. We believe this to be the first report specifically outlining measures that may assist this group in their goal of pregnancy achievement. To our knowledge, vasal sperm aspiration has never been used for this indication.

CF and CBAVD are really just ends of a clinical spectrum. The type and nature of the mutations in the CF gene probably determine the phenotypic expression of the patient. Perhaps all patients homozygous for delta F508, for example, will have severe pulmonary and pancreatic disease as well as absent vasa, whereas those with other combinations, such as delta F508/D1270N, will be unaffected in terms of pulmonary and pancreatic function but will have absent vasa. Besides contributing to a better understanding of the nature of CBAVD, this linkage of CF and CBAVD most importantly mandates genetic screening and counseling for appropriate family members and even the patient's spouse. In addition, a broader understanding of CF is now at hand, as this brings a whole new cohort of patients under the CF umbrella. Many of these will have at least one, if not two, rare or novel CF gene mutations. Once all of these mutations have been detected and defined, our knowledge of the CF gene, its mutations, and their implications will be dramatically expanded.

Ultrasound (US) has become crucial in the assessment of infertility of couples, in 50% of whom the male partner is responsible. Male infertility is caused by many diverse conditions, from reparable obstructive disorders to noncorrectable intrinsic testicular failure. During the past 4 years, a select group of 70 young infertile men with azoospermia or oligospermia and low ejaculate volume were examined with transrectal US. Twenty-six patients had congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens, 11 had congenital unilateral absence of the vas deferens and contralateral obstructive pathology, 15 had additional abnormalities thought to be directly related to semen deficiencies, and 18 patients with other causes for semen deficiency and infertility had findings that were either normal or showed minor abnormalities. The delineation of congenital and obstructive abnormalities of the distal urogenital tract with transrectal US enables an accurate diagnosis of certain cases of male infertility and helps guide appropriate clinical and surgical management.

Various techniques have evolved for augmentation of the tunica albuginea in cases when tunical tissue has been found deficient during penile prosthesis implantation. An intraoperative situation occurred in which the size of the tunical defect did not permit primary tunical closure or allow for approximation by placement of a tunical patch graft. In this case, to ensure satisfactory insertion of a penile prosthesis a polytetrafluoroethylene (Gore-Tex) tube graft was used as a circumferential neotunica.

Objective: Almost all males with cystic fibrosis (CF) have absent vasa deferentia. It has been suggested that otherwise healthy males with congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD), previously considered a distinct genetic entity, have an increased frequency of CF gene mutations. This study examined the genetic commonality of these two disorders., Design: We typed six common CF gene mutations in 25 patients with CBAVD. Additional rare mutations were sought using single-stranded conformation polymorphisms and direct DNA sequencing. When rare mutations were found, they were sought in a large sample of both CF patients and obligate CF carriers to exclude them as polymorphisms., Setting: All the patients presented to a male infertility clinic of a teaching hospital., Subjects: Twenty-five unselected, unrelated azoospermic men with CBAVD, most of them of Northern European ancestry., Results: Sixteen (64%) of the 25 men with CBAVD had at least one detectable CF mutation, 16 times the expected frequency (P less than .001). Moreover, we have thus far determined that three of these 16 men are compound heterozygotes, one of whom has a mutation not previously described. Analyses continue on patients who have yet to yield a detectable mutation., Conclusions: Some, if not all, otherwise healthy men with CBAVD reflect a newly recognized, primarily genital, phenotype of CF. Prior to sperm aspiration to remedy infertility, CF mutation analysis should be recommended for them and their partners, as well as for their relatives.

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease. Only recently has the prognosis improved. In the male patient there is an almost invariable absence or maldevelopment of the vas deferens, creating a situation of obstructive azoospermia. Consequently, their fertility potential has been considered nonexistent. Having gained experience in microscopic epididymal sperm aspiration coupled with the advanced reproductive technologies for the treatment of congenital absence of the vasa, we sought to extend this treatment option to the male cystic fibrosis population. An Indian male with clinically evident and genetically confirmed cystic fibrosis underwent microscopic retrieval of epididymal sperm. The anatomy of the epididymis and the quality of sperm obtained were similar to those patients with congenital absence of the vas deferens. After appropriate spousal genetic testing, superovulation, and transvaginal oocyte retrieval, in vitro insemination of sperm was performed. Fifty percent of the oocytes were subjected to partial zona dissection and a single embryo resulted. Subsequent to transfer, no conception was realized but the effort expanded the clinical usefulness of microscopic epididymal sperm aspiration. This should open up an avenue of treatment for couples in whom only the most dire predictions for fertility have been made to date.

The normal neural pathways involved in erection and ejaculation and the various spinal cord and central nervous system disorders that can adversely affect these functions are reviewed in this article. Also outlined are treatment strategies currently being employed.

Granulomatous prostatitis is a recognized complication of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy of superficial bladder cancer. Of 32 patients receiving such therapy 13 underwent prostatic core biopsy and/or fine needle aspiration for clinical indications. Prostatic induration or nodularity developed in 12 patients and 1 underwent biopsy for staging of known prostatic carcinoma. Granulomatous prostatitis was found in 100 per cent of those patients who underwent biopsy or aspiration, indicating that the incidence of this finding is at least 41 per cent following bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy. Acid-fast bacilli were demonstrated within the prostate of 3 patients with granulomatous prostatitis. The mean interval between the initiation of therapy and diagnosis of granulomatous prostatitis was 11.5 months. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin related granulomas of the prostate may be differentiated histologically from nonspecific granulomatous prostatitis, allergic prostatitis and postoperative granulomas. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

In 279 patients, 335 cytologic samples were obtained from the prostate and correlated with histology obtained by core needle biopsy in 189 cases. Approximately 6% of the cytologic specimens were inadequate for diagnosis. The unconfirmed positive rate for malignancy was 1.6%, the false-negative rate was 27.9%, and the accuracy rate was 89.6%. Granulomatous inflammation was diagnosed in 19 cases, and three cases of tumors other than acinar carcinoma of the prostate were encountered. Based on our experience, cytologic criteria for the diagnosis of prostatic adenocarcinoma are described.