Fetal myelomeningocele repair: urologic aspects

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The notion that earlier surgical correction of congenital anomalies will lead to improved outcomes permeates throughout surgical literature. This review critically assesses some of the urologic evaluations in patients who have undergone fetal repair of their myelomeningoceles. RECENT FINDINGS: Thus far, there are limited data to determine the effects of such a repair with respect to urologic outcome. Early data, though, have suggested that improvements are being noted in a cohort of patients who have undergone fetal repair of their myelomeningocele with respect to neurodevelopmental outcome and lower extremity neuromotor function. SUMMARY: What remains to be seen is whether fetal surgery and the noted changes translate into long-term improvement. The efforts being put forth to critically assess the outcomes of such surgery are laudable and yet the end analysis may still leave the question unanswered.     

Clinical and urologic management

The concept of clinical management try to incorporate to the physicians the importance of their decessions regarding the dinamical and complex process of efficiency and health expenses. In this article the authors carry out a reflexive analysis of the reliable repercussion of this process into the healthy people, governmental authorities and assistencial setting of patients. It establish the involvement of the doctor in management, clinical management and it concludes the regulatory function to achieve the true clinical efficiency which harmonizes the relationship between the assistencial process and the corresponding resources consumption.     

Current management of the infant with myelomeningocele

Infants with myelomeningocele continue to be a management dilemma for urologists. This article discusses many of the current questions that surround the newborn with myelomeningocele. What radiologic studies should be performed and when? How does the clinician determine if bladder drainage is adequate or requires altering? If a problem is identified what are the surgical options? When should urodynamics be performed? Ultimately how one manages, follows and initiates treatments in the newborn will have a significant effect on the long-term morbidity seen in this population of children.     

Surgical management of paralytic scoliosis in myelomeningocele

A retrospective analysis of 54 patients with paralytic scoliosis due to myelomeningocele, who underwent surgical treatment, was performed. The aim of this study was to compare different surgical techniques and to identify clinical parameters influencing primary and midterm results. Three surgical techniques were used: 1) group I, posterior fusion/instrumentation; 2) group II, anterior fusion/no instrumentation combined with posterior fusion/instrumentation; and 3) group III, anterior and posterior fusion/instrumentation. Average age at surgery was 13.1 years. A preoperative scoliosis angle of 90 degrees [interquartile range (25th-75th percentile) (IQR), 76-106 degrees] was primarily reduced to 38 degrees (IQR, 30-50 degrees). At final follow-up (mean, 3.3 years), correction deteriorated to 44 degrees (IQR, 38-65 degrees). The group III procedure resulted in a better midterm correction of scoliosis compared with group I (P = 0.02). The extension of anterior fusion correlated with primary and midterm correction of scoliosis (P < 0.03). Patients with a thoracic level of paralysis had a higher relative loss of correction compared with patients with a lumbar level (P < 0.06). This finding can be attributed mostly to group I patients (P = 0.011). Hardware complications occurred in 16 patients (30%). Relative loss of correction among these patients was high (P < 0.01) and relative midterm correction low (P = 0.001). We recommend anterior and posterior fusion, each with instrumentation for the treatment of paralytic scoliosis in myelomeningocele. In patients with a thoracic level of paralysis, the two-stage procedure is mandatory to reduce the risk of hardware complications and subsequent major loss of correction.     

Hatha Yoga therapy management of urologic disorders

Hatha Yoga (often referred to as "yoga") is an ancient type of physical and mental exercise that has been used as a therapeutic modality in traditional Indian medicine for centuries. Yoga as a complementary modality in western medicine is more recent and continues to grow. Chronic urologic disorders are often difficult to diagnose because their presentation mimic other medical conditions and are often a diagnosis of exclusion. Treatment is also frustrating because the more traditional treatments are often unsuccessful in managing chronic disorders. Health care practitioners are often forced to look elsewhere for other modalities to provide pain relief and improve quality of life. Hatha Yoga is one of these modalities which has been extremely useful to many patients in reducing the suffering seen with chronic urologic conditions such as: prostatodynia, chronic orchitis, chronic epididymitis, vulvodynia, interstitial cystitis, etc.     

Neuroprostheses in the management of incontinence in myelomeningocele patients

A 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl underwent successful closure of the meningomyelocele defect in childhood but they continued to suffer incontinence of stool and urine. After a 5-day trial with percutaneous electrostimulation of the pudendal nerve both patients received permanent neuroprosthetic implants. They became completely continent of stool and exhibited greater than 90% improvement in urinary control. These patients demonstrate that there is a small subset of meningomyelocele patients who, despite absence of spontaneous reflex tonus in the urinary and bowel sphincters, nevertheless have preserved motor capabilities.     

Experience in the management of myelomeningocele in Puerto Rico

The medical records of 128 children with myelomeningocele who were treated at the Pediatric University Hospital, Puerto Rico Medical Center, from January, 1980, to July, 1985, were reviewed retrospectively. The medical and surgical management during the first hospitalization of these children was studied in detail for predefined parameters. The average age at the time of myelomeningocele repair was 6.6 days. Statistical analysis showed that repair of the myelomeningocele defect before 48 hours of age did not reduce the occurrence of ventriculitis. The incidence of ventriculitis secondary to the management of the myelomeningocele lesion was 12.5%. Complications after repair of the myelomeningocele (including skin flap necrosis, cerebrospinal fluid leaks, and wound infection) were present in 43.8% of the patients who developed ventriculitis and in 19.0% of those who did not. This observation is statistically significant (p = 0.03) and indicates that complications of healing after myelomeningocele repair represent the most significant risk factor for the development of ventriculitis.     

The management of kyphosis in patients with myelomeningocele.

Kyphosis in myelomeningocele is a progressive condition, which can lead to severe deterioration of function and skin ulceration over the apex of the kyphus. Since bracing is impractical, surgical correction and stabilization is the recommended method of management. Three different techniques are in current use. An anterior procedure using a plate and u-bolt shackles, an anterior approach using a bone strut, and a posterior approach excising a wedge, and the spinal cord if it is functionless. We recommend the wedge excision combined with posterior Harrington compression instrumentation and spinal fusion extending well above and below the resection. Regardless of the approach used, it is the long spinal fusion both anterior and posterior, which will maintain correction.     

糖尿病患者伴泌尿外科急诊的围手术期处理

目的探讨糖尿病患者伴泌尿外科急诊的围手术期处理方法。方法Ⅰ组1996~2002年82例围手术期严格的血糖监测和治疗;Ⅱ组1990~1996年67例常规方法对照。对两组病例进行回顾性分析。结果Ⅰ组82例中死亡3例,死亡率3.65%,并发症12例;Ⅱ组67例,死亡7例,死亡率10.45%,并发症16例。结论糖尿病伴泌尿外科急诊的围手术期正确使用胰岛素能有效减少并发症和死亡率。     

Endoscopic management of urologic disease with the holmium laser

The efficiency and safety profile of the holmium laser have made this tool a versatile multipurpose instrument for use in the endoscopic treatment of a wide variety of urologic disorders. Herein are reviewed holmium laser physics and current endourologic applications, as well as the performance of new low-power holmium lasers.     

Current practice patterns in urologic management of upper-tract transitional-cell carcinoma

PURPOSE: To determine the current practice patterns in the management of upper-tract transitional-cell carcinoma (TCC) among a large group of urologists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey was sent to 220 practicing members of the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) and the Endourological Society (ES) and members of the American Urological Association who did not belong to either society. The survey consisted of 16 focused questions pertaining to the surveillance and management of upper-tract TCC. The responses were used to create a database, which was then analyzed to determine practice trends. RESULTS: Eighty-four of the urologists responded, for a response rate of 38%. Fourteen responses were excluded because of multiple answers to a given question, so 70 were included in the final analysis. Eighty percent of the respondents were in academic practice. A CT urogram was the favored initial procedure for diagnosis of upper-tract TCC and an intravenous urogram was the next commonest choice (53% and 40%, respectively). Ureterorenoscopy was the surveillance tool of choice (70%) after conservative treatment of upper- tract TCC. Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy was the preferred procedure (73%) for a high-grade, large renal-pelvic TCC. Twenty-one percent of the endourologists recommended ureteroscopic ablation for a high-grade, large distal ureteral tumor. This was in sharp contrast to 77% of the respondents who favored a distal ureterectomy for the same clinical scenario. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that most urologists treating upper-tract TCC follow the principles reported in the published literature regarding the management of these patients. Further, most urologists, regardless of society affiliations or years in practice, favor minimally invasive techniques for the management of upper-tract TCC. This information may be useful in formulating clear guidelines for the management of this disease.     

Current recommendations for imaging in the management of urologic traumas

Three percent to 10% of trauma patients have genitourinary tract injuries. Radiologic imaging is essential for making the correct diagnosis and managing it appropriately.Which modality is appropriate is based on the mechanism of injury and patient presentation. Patients with pelvic injuries and gross hematuria should undergo either CT cystography or conventional cystography. Ultrasound is warranted in patients with scrotal trauma when physical exam is inconclusive. Patients with penetrating trauma to the external genitalia, who suffer blunt trauma to the penis, or who present with gross hematuria, blood at the meatus, inability to void, perineal/scrotal ecchymosis, or abnormal digital rectal exam should undergo retrograde urethrography. Using these criteria for imaging should lead to the proper diagnosis and minimize patient morbidity.     

Controversies in perioperative management and antimicrobial prophylaxis in urologic surgery

Abstract:   The Japanese Urological Association (JUA) recently published guidelines for the prevention of perioperative urologic infections. Although the general remarks in the JUA guidelines are almost similar to those in guidelines previously published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in the European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines, their differences leave several questions that need to be answered. To clarify agreements and differences in guidelines for perioperative management in urologic interventions for development of more optimal guidelines, reports and reviews previously published were overlooked and discussed. In terms of surgical site infections (SSI) in urologic surgery, consensus for open and endoscopic-instrumental procedures is still somewhat controversial, while a consensus has not yet emerged for its use in laparoscopic procedures. Further research is required to determine what is an optimal prophylactic protocol to effectively prevent both SSI and remote infections (RI).     

Management of myelomeningocele

The care of the patient with myelomeningocele has improved over the last 15 years. Early diagnosis of urodynamic abnormalities and close monitoring of the urinary tract by ultrasonography have allowed the institution of prompt, effective therapy before upper-tract deterioration can occur. The wide acceptance of clean intermittent catheterization can in most circumstances eliminate the need for urinary diversion. Clean intermittent catheterization can alleviate reflux and in 85 per cent of children can promote continence. The adolescent and adult will continue to require observation and management to ensure their active place in society.