Paediatric chronic orchalgia

Testicular or scrotal / groin pain is common in children and often there is no apparent cause. This paper describes the authors’ experience over 10 years of boys >10 years seeking medical attention with testicular pain without anatomical abnormality or...

Buccal grafts for urethroplasty in pre-pubertal boys

Buccal mucosa graft (BMG) is often used as the primary graft in complex hypospadias surgery. It is not clear what the response of this BMG is during puberty androgen surge and whether or not differential penile growth occurs with secondary...

Prostate alpha-1 receptors: what is new?

This article from the west of Germany will be of interest to many of us who use alpha-blockers for bladder outflow symptoms. The classic model of understanding of alpha receptors has been challenged recently. Further models have been identified, including...

IC and risk of CHD

Bladder pain syndrome / interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) is a chronic, multifactorial and relapsing condition. Aetiology includes: inflammation, allergic, neuropathic, auto immune, vascular factors, etc. This study from Taiwan aimed to investigate the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among IC...

Impact of prostatic apex in continence after RARP

This article investigates the impact of prostatic apical shape from preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on early recovery of urinary continence after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). It is a retrospective study of 1011 patients at a tertiary centre. Patients were...

Androgen insensitivity in patients with proximal hypospadias

A number of surgeons use preoperative androgen stimulation for a period of time prior to hypospadias surgery. The aim is to increase glans circumference, penile length and improve prepucial vascularisation pre-surgery. Data confirming the results of these aims is scarce....

TPTNS: evaluation of a therapeutic option in the management of anticholinergic refractory overactive bladder

This is a prospective study evaluating the tolerability and efficacy of transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (TPTNS) in patients with urodynamically proven overactive bladder (OAB), who have failed anticholinergic treatment. Forty-three patients were studied and followed up over a period...

Oestrogens and OAB

This is a multicentre study from Europe. The female genitals and lower urinary tract have a common embryological origin arising from urogenital sinus. Therefore, both could be sensitive to female sex steroid hormones. Oestrogens and progesterone receptors have been demonstrated...

Low dose PDE5I in IC

This is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of daily low-dose sildenafil (25mg) for the treatment of non-ulcer interstitial cystitis (IC) in women. Forty-eight women with clinical diagnosis of IC, from three centres, were equally randomised to...

Retropubic versus transobturator mid-urethral slings for stress incontinence

Mid-urethral slings are commonly used in the surgical management of stress urinary incontinence. This multicentre, randomised trial aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of the retropubic tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) with the transobturator tension-free vaginal tape (TVT-O) in a...

Percutaneous ultrasound guided endoscopic lavage of perinephric abscess – different, but not necessarily better

Perinephric abscess is an uncommon but serious form of urosepsis. It develops as a consequence of the extension of an infection outside of the parenchyma of the kidney in acute pyelonephritis, or more rarely from haematogeneous spread of an infection...

Surgical management of DSD

The management of children with disorders of sex development (DSD) continues to be controversial. This editorial was written in response to a review article in the same edition on ‘Evidence regarding cosmetic and medically unnecessary surgery in infants’ by M...