Journal Reviews
The role of continuous prophylactic antibiotics following JJ stent insertion
Urinary tract infections (UTI) and stent-related symptoms (SRS) are frequently recognised complications of ureteric stent placement. Antibiotic administration at induction prior to ureteric stent insertion is recommended by the European Association of Urology (EAU). Commencing prophylactic antibiotics for the ‘entire...
Can PET/CT help in selecting treatment for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer more appropriately?
Radical cystectomy is one of the most drastic procedures that urological patients have to undergo with a five-year mortality of around 50% in those with organ-confined disease at presentation. Traditional imaging is with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) but lymphadenectomy often...
Cryotherapy for small renal masses: better than surveillance?
With the rapid rise in incidental small renal mass detection, some of which have malignant potential, comes the need to either survey or treat these masses safely and with minimal morbidity. This large series of 147 patients with 171 masses,...
Reflux oesophagitis and risk of interstitial cystitis: is there a link?
This study aims to explore the potential link between reflux oesophagitis (RE) and interstitial cystitis / bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). IC/BPS is a chronic disease which is difficult to diagnose and treat. Two percent of the population may be affected....
Novel therapy for SUI
This is a joint study from Iran and University College London. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a difficult condition to treat for patients and clinicians alike. Various surgical procedures have their benefits and pitfalls. Cell therapy is a new modality;...
Pacemakers in the upper urinary tract
This is an interesting study from Italy. The mechanism by which urine is transported from the kidney to the bladder via the upper urinary tract (UUT) remains poorly understood and elusive. For many years, pyeloureteric rhythmicity is thought to arise...
Adults with myelomeningocoele: life situation and bladder and bowel management
Long-term outcome studies of patients to include what happens at transition to adulthood are rare but increasing in the literature as paediatric urologists are questioning their long-term results more deeply. These authors aimed to assess life situation and bladder and...
Age does not impact risk for urethroplasty complications after TIP repair of hypospadias
This paper is evidence of an increasing trend (especially in the USA) to lower the age at which hypospadias repair is undertaken. The current generalised best accepted age to repair hypospadias is between 6-18 months, which was reduced in the...
Is renal pelvis reduction during dismembered pyeloplasty necessary?
The development of laparoscopic pyeloplasty has progressively led to a reduction in the amount of perioperative renal pelvic excision as a large excision leads to a longer anastomosis with associated increased risks (leak, operative time). This prospective study of 40...
Torsion of spermatic cord in children
This is an excellent review of ‘testicular’ torsion - which is said to occur in 1:4000 under 25-year-olds. Two age periods (adolescence and neonatal) are identified as having peak incidence. Acute torsion represents 27% of children with acute scrotum. The...
Lower pole vessels in children with PUJO: laparoscopic vascular hitch or dismembered pyeloplasty?
A crossing vessel accompanying pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction (PUJO) occurs in 25-50% of cases. The Hellstrom vascular hitch procedure was first described in 1951 and has regained popularity since 2003 in the era of laparoscopic surgery as it negates the need...
Needs of children with a chronic bladder in preparation for transfer to adult care
It is well recognised that transition from paediatric to adult practice is stressful for patients and parents. This paper describes a questionnaire-based study of 80 teenagers with chronic bladder disease (spina bifida exstrophy or other acquired neurogenic bladder condition) of...