S. Lahme

Urinary infection stones

Infection stones make up approximately 15% of urinary stone diseases and are thus an important group. These stones are composed of struvite and/or carbonate apatite. The basic precondition for the formation of infection stones is a urease positive urinary tract infection. Urease is necessary to split urea to ammonia and CO(2). As a result, ammonia ions can form and at the same time alkaline urine develops, both being preconditions for the formation of struvite and carbonate apatite crystals. When these crystals deposit themselves infection stones form. If these infections are not treated and the stones are not removed, the kidney will be damaged. For stone removal modern methods are available, e.g. ESWL and/or instrumental urinary stone removal. Here especially less invasive methods are preferable. Any treatment must be adjusted to the patient individually. Patients should be examined frequently for recurrent urinary tract infections and stone recurrences and, newly arising infections must be resolutely treated. Good therapy and prophylaxis are possible with present-day treatment modalities.

Minimally Invasive PCNL in Patients with Renal Pelvic and Calyceal Stones

Stones of the renal pelvis can be treated either by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) or percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). As a low–risk procedure with a longer treatment period, SWL often leads to persistent residual stone fragments, whereas conventional PCNL achieves a higher stone–free rate and allows a shorter treatment period albeit with a somewhat higher surgical risk. To reduce the invasiveness of conventional PCNL, the application of a miniaturised instrument for PCNL (MPCNL) was evaluated. For MPCNL a rigid nephroscope with a calibre of 12 F was developed and used in 19 patients. After puncture of the kidney under ultrasound control and single–step dilatation, a 15 F Amplatz sheath was placed. Data on the stone size and location, stone–free rate, blood transfusions, operating time and complications were recorded. In all patients, the part of the kidney afflicted by the stone was successfully punctured. On average, retreatment rate was 0.7. The mean stone size was 2.4 cm2. The average operating time was 99.2 min. In every case, the absence of residual stones was confirmed radiologically and nephroscopically. Hemorrhages requiring a blood transfusion did not occur. A febrile pyelonephritis occurred as a postoperative complication in one patient (= 5.3%). MPCNL represents an alternative to SWL for renal calculi with a size from 1 to 2 cm located in the renal pelvis and calices, especially the lower calix. The advantages are the short treatment time, the high stone–free rate and the accessibility of lower pole stones which are less amenable to SWL. MPCNL is not suitable for large concrements since the limited sheath diameter would increase the operating time. Due to this limitation, MPCNL represents an extension of the indication for conventional PCNL that it can in no way replace.

Shockwave lithotripsy and endourological stone treatment in children

Urolithiasis in children is a rare disease in developed countries. Due to the particular anatomical conditions of the infant body, indications and results of the well-known treatment modalities, such as shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), ureteroscopy and PCNL, have to be determined. Experience in active stone treatment in children is very rare and only a limited number of papers are available. SWL can be performed only if focus size and treatment facilities are adapted to the size of the child. Miniaturization of ureteroscopes allows primary access to the infant upper urinary tract. Results, complications and morbidity of the treatment are similar to the results in adults. The main prerequisite for the primary endoscopic approach is the experience of the surgeon. PCNL should be performed as Mini-Perc. Percutaneous procedures show equal results and morbidity compared to the treatment of adults, in experienced hands. As two-thirds of infant stone patients have an underlying metabolic disorder, close cooperation of adult and pediatric urologists, nephrologists and radiologists is necessary in order to achieve good results in the treatment of infant stones.

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy in urological centres – the experience of the German Laparoscopic Working Group

Study Type – Practice patterns (retrospective cohort)

The population-specific distribution and frequencies of genomic variants in the SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 genes and their application in molecular genetic testing of cystinuria

Cystinuria is a common inherited aminoaciduria resulting in nephrolithiasis. Mutations in two genes, SLC3A1 and SLC7A9, have been identified in cystinuric patients. Considering the population-specific distribution of genetic variants in the SLC3A1 gene, we focused our study on mutations in SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 described more than once in the literature. We evaluated the usefulness of this restricted analysis as a diagnostic approach. Furthermore, the data obtained were used to estimate the frequency of heterozygote carriers of SLC3A1 mutations in the general European population. A total of 22 unclassified cystinuric patients were screened for genetic variants in four exons of both SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 in which the most common mutations have been identified. For screening, we used single strand conformation polymorphism analysis (SSCP), restriction assays, real-time PCR and direct sequencing. In total, we identified mutations in 17 of our 22 patients, including a new mutation (R365Q) as well as a novel polymorphism (c.1035G/A) within the SLC3A1 gene. An ethnic influence on the distribution of mutations was confirmed: T216M in SLC3A1 is the major mutation in south-eastern Europe, whereas M467T in SLC3A1 is mainly found in western Europe. A complex duplication in SLC3A1 is restricted to German patients. Generally, we could show that a stepwise analysis directed to the most common mutations in the two cystinuria genes is sufficient to detect variants in more than 75% of patients of European origin. The test consists of nine different PCR-based approaches and therefore represents a low-cost, reliable and timesaving diagnostic tool.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy in Peyronie's Disease: Results of a Placebo-Controlled, Prospective, Randomized, Single-Blind Study

INTRODUCTION Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for treatment of Peyronies disease (PD) is controversial. AIM To study the efficacy of ESWT by a placebo-controlled, randomized trial. METHODS Patients with PD (n=102) were randomly assigned (n=51) to each group (ESWT or placebo). All patients were given 6 weekly treatments. Patients in the ESWT-group received 2,000 shock waves per session, using the Piezoson 100 lithotripter (Richard Wolf, Knittlingen, Germany). Patients in the placebo-group were treated with interposition of a plastic membrane, which prevented any transmission of shock waves. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary end point was decrease of pain between baseline and after 4 weeks follow-up. Secondary end points were changes in deviation, plaque size, and sexual function. Pain was assessed by a visual analog scale. Deviation was measured by a goniometer after artificial erection using Alprostadil (Viridal®, Schwarz Pharma, Monheim, Germany). Plaque size was measured with a ruler and sexual function assessed by a scale regarding the ability to perform sexual intercourse. RESULTS Overall, only 45 patients experienced pain at baseline. In the subgroup analysis of these patients, pain decreased in 17/20 (85.0%) patients in the ESWT group and 12/25 (48.0%) patients in the placebo group (P=0.013, relative risk [RR]=0.29, 95% confidence interval: 0.09-0.87). Penile deviation was not reduced by ESWT (P=0.66) but worsened in 20/50 (40%) and 12/49 (24.5%) patients of the ESWT and placebo-group, respectively (P=0.133). Plaque size reduction was not different between the two groups (P=0.33). Additional, plaque size increased in five patients (10.9%) of the ESWT group only. An improvement in sexual function could not be verified (P=0.126, RR=0.46). CONCLUSIONS Despite some potential benefit of ESWT in regard to pain reduction, it should be emphasized that pain usually resolves spontaneously with time. Given this and the fact that deviation may worsen with ESWT, this treatment cannot be recommended.

Stone-free rate (SFR): a new proposal for defining levels of SFR

There is a lack of consensus in the definition of stone-free rate (SFR) after ureteric or renal stone surgery. We propose a simple classification to define levels of SFR post-treatment.

Comparison of cytology and nuclear matrix protein 22 for the detection and follow-up of bladder cancer.

OBJECTIVES This study was designed to determine the clinical usefulness of the nuclear matrix METHODS 84 patients suffering from bladder cancer or suspected bladder cancer, 25 patients with benign urological lesions and 60 healthy controls participated in a prospective study. Freshly voided spot urine samples were taken for cytological examination and determination of NMP 22 levels by enzyme-linked immunoassay. RESULTS The sensitivity of the NMP 22 test according to the tumor grading was (results of cytology in brackets): G1 25.0% (20.0%); G2 68.2% (59.1%), and G3 100.0% (66.7); overall sensitivity was 62.5% (45.0%). The sensitivity for superficial bladder cancer was 46.7% (36.7%) and for invasive bladder cancer 90.0% (70.0%). The specificity was 65.9% (88.9%). CONCLUSIONS NMP 22 is a reliable tool for detecting invasive bladder cancer. Results for the frequently occurring low grade superficial bladder cancer are as poor as those obtained with cytology. In addition benign lesions such as urolithiasis or urinary tract infection lead to false-positive results. Therefore cystoscopy has to be performed when trying to detect and follow-up bladder cancer.

Collagen Fleece for Defect Coverage Following Plaque Excision in Patients with Peyronie’s Disease

Abstract Objectives: Surgical correction of penile deviation in patients with Peyronies disease by tunical plication often leads to shortening of the penis. It is, thus, recommendable to combine tunical plication with plaque incision or excision. The resulting tunical defect, however, requires grafting, and various techniques have been described. In comparison with tunical plication, all of these combined techniques are associated with increased operation time, mainly due to additional procedures necessary at the donor site, and may result in defects at the donor site. We here report a novel surgical technique by which tunical defects after partial excision of plaques are covered by a ready-to-use collagen fleece coated with tissue sealant (TachoComb ® ). Method: A prospective clinical observation trial was conducted in 19 patients with penile deviation due to Peyronies disease. Results: In all patients, a reliable closure of the Tunica albuginea was achieved, and no postoperative haematoma formation was observed. Postoperatively, none of the patients suffered from erectile dysfunction. During the follow-up period of 25 months, objective and subjective improvement was 83% and 72%, respectively. Conclusion: The present data indicate that this novel surgical technique may be of benefit in patients with Peyronies disease and should thus be further evaluated.

Arterial blood pressure following different types of urinary stone therapy

Objective: Several studies reported increased blood pressure (BP) values following extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) treatment of renal stones. It is unclear, however, whether this is due to ESWL, since nephrolithiasis itself increases the relative risk of developing hypertension. Therefore we prospectively studied the BPs of stone patients undergoing different types of treatment.Methods: 252 stone patients (63% males, 37% females, median age 44.3, range 11.7–86.4 years) participated. 168 suffered from uretral stones: 50 underwent ESWL; 40 ureteroscopy, and 78 patients passed stones spontaneously (SP). 84 had renal stones: 60 underwent ESWL; 8 percutaneous nephrolithotomy/open surgery, and 16 no treatment. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP were measured according to Riva–Rocci prior to, immediately after, and 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after stone therapy.Results: Immediately after SP, SBP decreases, whereas after active stone treatment increases (highest after ESWL) in SBP were seen. DBP was unchanged. During the further follow–up, a gradual increase in BP was observed in all groups. At 24 months in all groups, regardless of the stone location and type of treatment, SBP and DBP were significantly higher than the pretreatment levels (p = 0.000). There was no a difference between renal and ureteral stones, or between the ESWL treatment and the other groups.Conclusion: Renal stone disease itself rather than the type of treatment significantly increases SBP and DBP during a follow–up period of 24 months. The underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated.