Tage Hald

Carcinoma in situ of contralateral testis in patients with testicular germ cell cancer: study of 27 cases in 500 patients.

Carcinoma in situ in the contralateral testis was diagnosed in 27 of 500 patients (5.4%) with unilateral testicular germ cell cancer. Eight of the 27 patients received intensive chemotherapy for spread of their initial testicular cancer. Follow up biopsy studies did not detect changes of carcinoma in situ in any of these patients, and none developed a contralateral testicular tumour (observation time 12-88 months). Of the remaining 19 patients with carcinoma in situ, seven developed contralateral testicular cancer. The estimated risk of developing invasive growth was 40% within three years and 50% within five years. None of the 473 patients without carcinoma in situ detected by screening biopsy developed contralateral testicular cancer (observation time 12-96 months). No serious complications arose from the biopsy procedures. All patients with unilateral testicular germ cell cancer should be offered biopsy of the contralateral testis.

Reproducibility and Reliability of Urinary Incontinence Assessment with a 60 Min Test

Urinary incontinence was objectively assessed in 50 patients. The urine loss was measured as weight gain of perineal pads worn during a 60 min standardized activity period. The test was initiated by drinking 500 ml (not milk and soda water). The patients were instructed not to void before and during the test. After the test, the voided volume was collected. The test proved handy, reproducible and reliable compared to the subjective day-time incontinence. Prior to the actual test, 15 patients participated in a pilot study having an initial voiding and a test period of 3 1/2 hours. This longer test period was not found practical and the gain in positive diagnosis was minimal compared to the disadvantages with a higher number of unscheduled voidings.

Bladder Function in Healthy Elderly Males

Bladder function was studied in 20 healthy elderly male volunteers using cystometry, uroflowmetry and voiding cystourethrography. Two persons were excluded from the study as neurological examination had shown evidence of organic neurological disease, and one person did not complete the study. 53% of the remaining 17 persons had detrusor hyperreflexia. Urinary flow rates were reduced and maximal intravesical pressures elevated in the persons studied, although they claimed to have a normal voiding pattern. No correlation was found between the reduction of urinary flow rate respectively increase in maximal intravesical pressure and the presence of detrusor hyperreflexia. The high incidence of detrusor reflex disturbances thus suggests that incipient infravesical obstruction in old age and possible subclinical impairment of the central nervous control of the micturition reflex are major etiological factors in detrusor hyperreflexia.

Failure of Combined Supratrigonal Cystectomy and Mainz Ileocecocystoplasty in Intractable Interstitial Cystitis: is Histology and Mast Cell Count a Reliable Predictor for the Outcome of Surgery?

Eight women with severe intractable interstitial cystitis were treated with supratrigonal cystectomy and Mainz ileocecocystoplasty. The preoperative evaluation consisted of symptom analysis, cystometry, cystoscopy and bladder pathological findings. Seven patients had increased mast cell density. Median followup was 10 months. The symptoms resolved in 2 patients but recurred in 6 shortly after the operation. Voiding could not be established in 4 patients. Self-catheterization was difficult and painful. Ultimately, cystectomy and urinary diversion were performed in 5 patients and is scheduled in 1. The 2 cured patients had a small contracted bladder preoperatively while they were under anesthesia, while all 6 failed cases had a large bladder capacity. Postoperative biopsies from the trigone showed no difference in the amount of fibrosis, the degree of degenerative changes in the muscle and mast cell density between the 2 cured patients and the 6 who failed to improve. The mast cell density and the histological status of the trigone cannot be used as predictors of the outcome of supratrigonal cystectomy. The role of the mast cells in interstitial cystitis is reviewed. Combination of supratrigonal cystectomy and a Mainz augmentation cystoplasty cannot be recommended in patients with intractable interstitial cystitis and a large bladder capacity.

Non-cholinergic, non-adrenergic nerve mediated relaxation of trigone, bladder neck and urethral smooth muscle in vitro.

Human trigone and porcine urethral, bladder neck and trigone smooth muscle were exposed to transmural electric field stimulation in vitro. The responses were composed of different combinations of a relaxation phase and a contraction phase. A few strips exhibited contractions only and a few strips relaxation only. The individual strip retained the behavior throughout the experiment. No systematic difference in the responses was found in strips from the different regions. The configuration of the response was slightly shifted in favor of contraction by beta-adrenergic blockade with propanolol and prostaglandin synthesis inhibition with Ketoprofen. After alpha-adrenergic blockade with phentolamine and cholinergic blockade with atropine, the reverse effect was seen with augmentation of the relaxation and reduction of the contraction. The relaxation phase was completely abolished by nerve poisoning with tetrodotoxin, but was still observed with all other antagonists present, and was therefore nerve-mediated through non-cholinergic, non-adrenergic and non-prostaglandin transmitter or modulator systems.

Standardized Evaluation of Erectile Dysfunction in 95 Consecutive Patients

We investigated 95 patients referred for erectile dysfunction by penile blood pressure measurement, the intracavernous papaverine test and Doppler investigation of the penile arteries. Furthermore, penile cutaneous perception threshold, bulbocavernosus reflex latency and somatosensory cortical evoked potentials of the pudendal nerve were measured. In selected cases cavernosometry, cavernosography and corpus cavernosum electromyography were performed. Doppler investigation of the cavernous arteries after papaverine injection was more reliable than penile blood pressure measurement in the diagnosis of arteriogenic erectile dysfunction. Decreased sensibility of the penis may be the sole factor responsible for inability to sustain an erection. Erectile dysfunction may be provoked by impaired function of the pudendal nerve. Penile cutaneous perception threshold measurement and corpus cavernosum electromyography are mandatory in the evaluation of neurogenic etiology. Cavernosometry and cavernosography are reliable methods in the determination of abnormal drainage from the corpus cavernosum.

Are Doctors Able to Assess Prostatic Size

The between-observer variation was evaluated through three independent estimates of preoperative prostatic weight in each of 40 patients. Error in the estimates was of considerable magnitude irrespective of size of prostates. Experienced urologists did not attain a more reliable estimate than unexperienced doctors. Only about 2/3 of estimates were correct within a range of +/- 25 g. However, there was a statistically significant correlation between estimated and actual operative prostatic weight.

Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide Influence on Lower Urinary Tract Smooth Muscle from Human and Pig

The influence of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide on detrusor, trigone, bladder neck and urethral smooth muscle from human and pig was investigated in vitro. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide reduced the tension and amplitude of the spontaneous contractions of strips from all regions studied. Human detrusor and pig trigone, bladder neck and urethral strips were more sensitive to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide than pig detrusor. The response was reversible, reproducible and dose-dependent from 10(-9) to 10(-6) mol. per liter. The time to onset of the response was within 1/2 minute and the time to maximal relaxation was 2 to 10 minutes. The response was not affected by selective nerve poisoning with tetrodotoxin, beta-adrenergic blockade with propanolol or prostaglandin synthesis blockade with ketoprofen. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide did not prevent prostaglandin E2 activity on the musculature. Contractions evoked by transmural electric field stimulation or pharmacologically with carbachol, noradrenaline, substance P and prostaglandin F2 alpha were equally reduced by VIP 10(-7) mol. per liter.

Urodynamic Evaluation of Transurethral Versus Transvesical Prostatectomy: A Randomized Study

In a randomized study of transurethral prostatectomy (TURP) versus transvesical prostatectomy (TVP) in 75 patients a urodynamic evaluation was undertaken before and 6 months following operation. In the TURP group a resection to the surgical capsule was attempted in each case. Operative specimen weights in the two groups did not differ statistically significantly. 5 patients in each group had unexpected prostatic carcinoma. Rapid fill CO2 cystometry did not show any significant differences in bladder function between TURP and TVP patients 6 months following operation. In both groups a high incidence of detrusor instability was observed at follow-up. However, the incidence as well as the severity of the instability had decreased significantly following the two operative procedures. As judged from flowmetry and pressure flow investigation, relief of infravesical obstruction was almost complete in both groups. However, following treatment of postoperative strictures the patients with benign histology in the TVP group compared to the TURP group had higher maximum flow rate values and lower detrusor pressure values. Confidence limits for the differences between the two groups in detrusor pressure and maximum flow rate at follow-up did, however, hardly suggest clinically significantly differences. At urethral closure pressure profile measurement a statistically significantly shorter profile length was measured in TVP patients. The marginal differences in relief or infravesical obstruction might be due to differences in the amount of apical prostatic adenoma following operation.

High flow infravesical obstruction in men: symptomatology, urodynamics and the results of surgery.

High flow infravesical obstruction in male patients with severe prostatism is defined by a maximum flow rate of more than 15 ml. per second and a vesical pressure exceeding 100 cm. water at maximum flow rate. During a 9-month period urodynamic screening of 225 patients referred to our hospital with prostatism revealed high flow infravesical obstruction in 16 (7 per cent). Transurethral surgery of the prostate or bladder neck was performed in 11 of the patients, with good results observed in symptomatology as well as in maximum flow rate. A urodynamic screening program is suggested to establish the diagnosis so that these patients can benefit from surgical treatment.