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Anterior urethral valves are rare entities, especially in case they are not associated to urethral diverticulum. Because of their obstructive effects on the urinary tract, they must be searched in case of clinical evidence of lower obstructive uropathy. Three cases of anterior urethral valves without urethral diverticulum are herein reported. Differential diagnosis with urethral diverticula, endoscopic features and treatment are discussed and emphasized.

Anatomy and symptoms of ureteral ectopy in childhood can greatly vary. In most cases the site of ectopies in the urethral tract, so that a complete excision of the distal ureter is difficult and may cause damage to the sphincteric structures. When lower ureterectomy is performed below iliac vessels, symptoms secondary to residual ectopic ureter are rare. In our experience, residual ureteral stumps were symptomatic in two cases, with continence and micturation disturbances, which were codified as "residual ureteral stump syndrome". Clinical features and treatment are herein reported.

Primary vesico-ureteral reflux (V.U.R.) in children has been widely investigated in several reports in the last two decades, but the morphologic aspects of refluxing vesico-ureteral junction are still incompletely codified or incompletely described. The authors report the results of a histologic study on the terminal refluxing ureter in a group of 20 patients with primitive V.U.R., random chosen from a series of over 400 subjects who underwent antireflux surgery for primitive V.U.R. at the Pediatric Surgery Department of the University of Bologna. Connections between muscular hypertrophy and reflux degree are herein reported and discussed.

Nowadays Intermittent Catheterization (I.C.) is considered the treatment of choice in patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction, because of its easy handling and good results. Renal function preservation, urinary tract infections prevention and continence can be achieved by this method. In particular, I.C. per sè improves continence quality in many cases, but, in the majority of them the best results can be obtained by drug therapy addition, having in mind a more direct action on to detrusor compliance and/or bladder neck tone. Oxybutynin Chloride (Ditropan)(-) is the first choice drug, even in childhood, in cases of neurogenic bladder dysfunction, for its anticholinergic, antispastic and analgesic properties. From 1978, 48 children with neurogenic bladder have been treated by I.C. Out of them, 27 have had drug therapy (Oxybutynin Chloride-Ditropan) in addition to I.C., according to indications of clinical, radiologic and urodynamics findings. Results on continence are discussed.

Epithelial tumours of the bladder are very rare entities in childhood. A case of a bladder papilloma in a 10 years old boy is herein reported. Basing on this observation, the pathological, therapeutic and prognosis aspects are mainly discussed.

Vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR) associated to neurogenic bladder dysfunctions is well known as pathologic entity; in particular, its radiologic and urodynamic aspects have been widely debated in recent years, even in infancy and childhood. In our study, histologic features of the vesico-ureteral junction have been investigated in a group of patients with neurogenic bladder and VUR, who underwent antireflux surgery. Structural aspects of these vesico-ureteral junctions have been then compared to refluxing junctions taken from non-neurogenic bladders and non-refluxing junctions from normal bladders.