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Background: The prevalence of kidney stones tends to increase worldwide due to dietary and climate changes. Disease management involves a high consumption of healthcare system resources which can be reduced with primary prevention measures and prophylaxis of recurrences. In this field, collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and hospitals is crucial. Methods: a panel composed of general practitioners and academic and hospital clinicians expert in the treatment of urinary stones met with the aim of identifying the activities that require the participation of the GP in the management process of the kidney stone patient. Results: Collaboration between GP and hospital was found crucial in the treatment of renal colic and its infectious complications, expulsive treatment of ureteral stones, chemolysis of uric acid stones, long-term follow-up after active treatment of urinary stones, prevention of recurrence and primary prevention in the general population. Conclusions: The role of the GP is crucial in the management and prevention of urinary stones. Community hospitals which are normally led by GPs in liaison with consultants and other health professional can have a role in assisting multidisciplinary working as extended primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Robotic-assisted simple prostatectomy (RASP) is a novel surgicalprocedure for the management of obstructive symptoms caused by enlarged prostate glands. Before the introduction of minimally invasive techniques, the standard approach was the open simple prostatectomy (OSP). The aim of our study was to compare intraoperative and perioperative outcomes of robotic (RASP) and laparoscopic (LSP) simple prostatectomy. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients who underwent minimally invasive simple prostatectomy at the Urological Department of Portogruaro Hospital, Portogruaro, and at the Urological Department of "San Bassiano" Hospital, in Bassano del Grappa, from March 2015 to December 2020. Data collected from medical records included age, body mass index, prostate volume, operative time, preoperative International Prostatic Symptoms Score (IPSS), postoperative IPSS, time with drainage, blood transfusion, intraoperative complications, perioperative complications and length of hospital stay.. Results: Robotic-assisted (n = 25) and laparoscopic simple prostatectomy (n = 25) were performed with a transvesical approach. No significant differences were observed regarding baseline characteristics, body mass index, prostate volume and IPSS. Operative time was lower in the laparoscopic group (122 min vs 139 min) (p = 0.024), while hospital stay was lower in the robotic group (4 days vs 6 days) (p = 0.047). Conclusions: Robotic-assisted simple prostatectomy is a safe technique with results comparable to laparoscopic simple prostatectomy, encompassing the advantage of a shorter hospitalization. Considering the costs and the limited availability of robotic-assisted simple prostatectomy, laparoscopic simple prostatectomy is a valid and safe alternative for experienced surgeons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Combination therapy with 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) and alpha-blocker can be considered as a gold standard intervention for medical management of lower urinary tract symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH). On the other hand, 5-ARI monotherapy and in particular Finasteride alone is currently getting focus of attention especially due to lack of systematic reviews investigating efficacy outcomes and/or adverse events associated. Objectives: Aim of the present critical review was to analyze current knowledge of clinical efficacy and incidence of adverse events associated with 5-ARI treatment for LUTS/BPH. Materials and methods: A systematic review of clinical trials of the literature of the past 20 years was performed using database from PubMed, Cochrane Collaboration and Embase. A total of 8821 patients were included in this study and inclusion criteria for studies selection were: data from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) focusing their attention on the clinical role of Finasteride monotherapy for symptomatic BPH. Parameters of research included prostate specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume (PV), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPPS), postvoid residual urine (PVR), voiding symptoms of IPSS (voiding IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), and adverse events (AEs). Results: Overall 12 original articles were included and critically evaluated. Sample sizes of patient actively treated with finasteride varied from 13 to 1524 cases analyzed in a single study. Follow-up after treatments ranged from 3 to 54 months. The effect of finasteride in reducing prostate volume (PV) was moderate (standardized mean difference (SMD) effect between 0.5 to 0.8 for all trials evaluable) while the effect on IPSS score and Qmax was considered significant (SMD in the 0.2 to 0.5 variation range). No severe AEs and/or psychiatric disorders were retrieved among the studies. Sexual health dysfunctions were significantly influenced by finasteride therapy when compared with placebo treated patients. Conclusions: Although significant clinical benefits of finas-teride monotherapy were demonstrated, the effective size of the available reports included in the analysis is limited. Additional head-to-head studies would be needed to re-evaluate clinical efficacy and safety of 5-ARI in combination or not with alpha blockers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Percutaneous treatment of persistent urinary fistula after partial nephrectomy using N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate and gelatin sponge (Spongostan®) is an effective and relatively non-invasive procedure that should be considered when a conservative approach fails. Three successful cases of percutaneous embolization by using N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate have been reported in the literature. To our knowledge, the use of Spongostan for the treatment of urinary fistula after partial nephrectomy has not been previously described. Case report: We present the case of an 82-year old man who underwent percutaneous closure of a urinary fistula following partial nephrectomy by using gelatin sponge (Spongostan®) and N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate. Conclusions: We encourage the use of this technique in selected cases. Collaboration amongst urologists and skilled interventional radiologist is strongly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate differences between Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy (LPN) and Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy (RAPN) using the Margin, Ischemia and Complications (MIC) score system and to evaluate factors related with MIC success. Materials and Methods: Single centre retrospective study on 258 LPN and 58 RAPN performed between January 2012 and January 2014. Success was defined when surgical margins was negative, Warm Ischemia Time (WIT) was ⩽ 20 minutes and no major complications occurred. Mann-Whitney-U and Pearson χ2 correlation were used to compare LPN and RAPN. A matched pair comparison was also performed. Spearman correlation (Rho) was used to evaluate the relationship between clinical, intra and post-operative and pathological patients characteristics with MIC score. A binary regression analysis was also performed to evaluate independent factors associated with MIC success. Results: The MIC rate in LPN and RAPN was 55% and 65.5% respectively. No differences in clinical, intra and post-operative outcomes between groups were found. Clinical tumor size (p-value: < 0.001; OR: 0.829; 95% CI: 0.697-0.987), PADUA score (p-value: < 0.001; OR: 0.843; 95% CI: 0.740-0.960), PADUA risk groups (intermediate; p-value: < 0.001; OR: 0.416; 95% CI: 0.238- 0.792; high: p-value: < 0.001; OR: 0.356; 95% CI: 0.199- 0.636), WIT (p-value: < 0.001; OR: 0.598; 95% CI: 0.530- 0.675) were independently associated with MIC. eGFR (< 60 vs ⩾ 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2: p-value: < 0.001; OR: 3.356; 95% CI: 1.701-6.621) and Fuhrman nuclear grade (p-value: 0.014; OR: 1.798; 95% CI:1.129-2.865) were also independently associated with MIC. Conclusions: MIC score system is a simple and useful tool to report and to compare different surgical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of kidney stones tends to increase worldwide due to dietary and climate changes. Disease management involves a high consumption of healthcare system resources which can be reduced with primary prevention measures and prophylaxis of recurrences. In this field, collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and hospitals is crucial., Methods: a panel composed of general practitioners and academic and hospital clinicians expert in the treatment of urinary stones met with the aim of identifying the activities that require the participation of the GP in the management process of the kidney stone patient., Results: Collaboration between GP and hospital was found crucial in the treatment of renal colic and its infectious complications, expulsive treatment of ureteral stones, chemolysis of uric acid stones, long-term follow-up after active treatment of urinary stones, prevention of recurrence and primary prevention in the general population., Conclusions: The role of the GP is crucial in the management and prevention of urinary stones. Community hospitals which are normally led by GPs in liaison with consultants and other health professional can have a role in assisting multidisciplinary working as extended primary care.

Purpose: Robotic-assisted simple prostatectomy (RASP) is a novel surgical procedure for the management of obstructive symptoms caused by enlarged prostate glands. Before the introduction of minimally invasive techniques, the standard approach was the open simple prostatectomy (OSP). The aim of our study was to compare intraoperative and perioperative outcomes of robotic (RASP) and laparoscopic (LSP) simple prostatectomy., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients who underwent minimally invasive simple prostatectomy at the Urological Department of Portogruaro Hospital, Portogruaro, and at the Urological Department of "San Bassiano" Hospital, in Bassano del Grappa, from March 2015 to December 2020. Data collected from medical records included age, body mass index, prostate volume, operative time, preoperative International Prostatic Symptoms Score (IPSS), postoperative IPSS, time with drainage, blood transfusion, intraoperative complications, perioperative complications and length of hospital stay., Results: Robotic-assisted (n = 25) and laparoscopic simple prostatectomy (n = 25) were performed with a transvesical approach. No significant differences were observed regarding baseline characteristics, body mass index, prostate volume and IPSS. Operative time was lower in the laparoscopic group (122 min vs 139 min) (p = 0.024), while hospital stay was lower in the robotic group (4 days vs 6 days) (p = 0.047)., Conclusions: Robotic-assisted simple prostatectomy is a safe technique with results comparable to laparoscopic simple prostatectomy, encompassing the advantage of a shorter hospitalization. Considering the costs and the limited availability of robotic-assisted simple prostatectomy, laparoscopic simple prostatectomy is a valid and safe alternative for experienced surgeons.

Introduction: Percutaneous treatment of persistent urinary fistula after partial nephrectomy using N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate and gelatin sponge (Spongostan®) is an effective and relatively non-invasive procedure that should be considered when a conservative approach fails. Three successful cases of percutaneous embolization by using N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate have been reported in the literature. To our knowledge, the use of Spongostan for the treatment of urinary fistula after partial nephrectomy has not been previously described., Case Report: We present the case of an 82-year old man who underwent percutaneous closure of a urinary fistula following partial nephrectomy by using gelatin sponge (Spongostan®) and N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate., Conclusions: We encourage the use of this technique in selected cases. Collaboration amongst urologists and skilled interventional radiologist is strongly recommended.

The COVID-19 outbreak dramatically changed hospital everyday life, impairing the course of previous routine activity, also in urology. In the next months, together with keeping the focus on the prevention of contagion recrudescence, the health care system will face another stringent issue, i.e. to restore all the services not COVID-related. Leonardi et al. in their paper report an equilibrate overview on the incoming "Phase 2", in order to set up so-called COVID-free hospitals and departments. The authors offer an insight from a practical point of view, detailing protocols for any of the steps of the path of care, from the outpatient visit to surgery.

Background: Combination therapy with 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) and alpha-blocker can be considered as a gold standard intervention for medical management of lower urinary tract symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH). On the other hand, 5-ARI monotherapy and in particular Finasteride alone is currently getting focus of attention especially due to lack of systematic reviews investigating efficacy outcomes and/or adverse events associated., Objectives: Aim of the present critical review was to analyze current knowledge of clinical efficacy and incidence of adverse events associated with 5-ARI treatment for LUTS/BPH., Materials and Methods: A systematic review of clinical trials of the literature of the past 20 years was performed using database from PubMed, Cochrane Collaboration and Embase. A total of 8821 patients were included in this study and inclusion criteria for studies selection were: data from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) focusing their attention on the clinical role of Finasteride monotherapy for symptomatic BPH. Parameters of research included prostate specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume (PV), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPPS), postvoid residual urine (PVR), voiding symptoms of IPSS (voiding IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), and adverse events (AEs)., Results: Overall 12 original articles were included and critically evaluated. Sample sizes of patient actively treated with finasteride varied from 13 to 1524 cases analyzed in a single study. Follow-up after treatments ranged from 3 to 54 months. The effect of finasteride in reducing prostate volume (PV) was moderate (standardized mean difference (SMD) effect between 0.5 to 0.8 for all trials evaluable) while the effect on IPSS score and Qmax was considered significant (SMD in the 0.2 to 0.5 variation range). No severe AEs and/or psychiatric disorders were retrieved among the studies. Sexual health dysfunctions were significantly influenced by finasteride therapy when compared with placebo treated patients., Conclusions: Although significant clinical benefits of finasteride monotherapy were demonstrated, the effective size of the available reports included in the analysis is limited. Additional head-to-head studies would be needed to re-evaluate clinical efficacy and safety of 5-ARI in combination or not with alpha blockers.

Objective: To evaluate differences between Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy (LPN) and Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy (RAPN) using the Margin, Ischemia and Complications (MIC) score system and to evaluate factors related with MIC success., Materials and Methods: Single centre retrospective study on 258 LPN and 58 RAPN performed between January 2012 and January 2014. Success was defined when surgical margins was negative, Warm Ischemia Time (WIT) was ≤ 20 minutes and no major complications occurred. Mann-Whitney-U and Pearson χ2 correlation were used to compare LPN and RAPN. A matched pair comparison was also performed. Spearman correlation (Rho) was used to evaluate the relationship between clinical, intra and post-operative and pathological patients characteristics with MIC score. A binary regression analysis was also performed to evaluate independent factors associated with MIC success., Results: The MIC rate in LPN and RAPN was 55% and 65.5% respectively. No differences in clinical, intra and post-operative outcomes between groups were found. Clinical tumor size (p-value: &lt; 0.001; OR: 0.829; 95% CI: 0.697-0.987), PADUA score (p-value: &lt; 0.001; OR: 0.843; 95% CI: 0.740-0.960), PADUA risk groups (intermediate; p-value: &lt; 0.001; OR: 0.416; 95% CI: 0.238- 0.792; high: p-value: &lt; 0.001; OR: 0.356; 95% CI: 0.199- 0.636), WIT (p-value: &lt; 0.001; OR: 0.598; 95% CI: 0.530- 0.675) were independently associated with MIC. eGFR (&lt; 60 vs ≥ 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2: p-value: &lt; 0.001; OR: 3.356; 95% CI: 1.701-6.621) and Fuhrman nuclear grade (p-value: 0.014; OR: 1.798; 95% CI:1.129-2.865) were also independently associated with MIC., Conclusions: MIC score system is a simple and useful tool to report and to compare different surgical approach.

Renal angiomyolipoma is a uncommon benign tumor, considered an hamartoma. The lesion, usually benign, can be single or multiple and well-circumscribed. In letterature only few cases of infiltrating angiomyolipomas have been described. The aim of the paper is to describe a paradigmatic case of a giant kidney angiomyolipoma, not associ- ated with tuberous sclerosis, invading the pelvis and the renal vein. The lesion have been discovered incidentally during abdominal ultrasound for other pathology. Owing to the extent of the lesion and the appreciable risk of bleeding, we opted for surgical treatment.

We present a case of laparoscopic transperitoneal heminephrectomy involving a large renal cell carcinoma of 7 cm centrally located on the left side of a horseshoe kidney in a 48 years old male patient detected by ultrasound scan and CT scan.

We report a case of chylous ascites developing the first post-operative day after laparoscopic adrenalectomy. The early initiation of treatment with total parenteral nutrition and somatostatin analog led to rapid resolution of the ascites. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of chylous ascites after laparoscopic adrenalectomy and we report it to stress the need for greater awareness and attention (meticulous dissection, permanent use of hemoclips and/or suture ligatures instead of electrocautery) even for simpler laparoscopic urologic procedures.

Vesico-urethral anastomosis is a technically challenging part of the laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Our aim was to simplify the anastomosis-step by adopting a new device "Capio" (Boston Scientific), already known in open surgery, together with "Alesix" (Applied), a device used in hand assisted laparoscopy.

Laparoscopic Nephron Sparing Surgery (LNSS) is a technically challenging procedure. Technical aspects and the outcome of LNSS are investigated. A total of 592 LNSS procedures were collected from 12 Centres, either in extraperitoneal or transperitoneal fashion. Mean tumor size was 2.2 cm. Eight centers reported on tumor position for a total of 407 cases with 338 exophytic tumors (83%) and 69 deep lesions (17%). Four centers, accounting for 185 cases, did not report on tumor position. All the centers performed their LNSS by clamping the hilum. The warm ischemia time was < 30 min in all the centers. The positive margin rate was 2% (12/592). Hemostatic agents and/or sealant or tissue glues were used in 86% of cases (511/592). Types of sealants used included: gelatine matrix (Floseal), fibrin gel (Tissucol), bovine serum albumin (BioGlue) and cianacrylate (Glubran). Two Centres never used sealants, one center used only sealants without suturing and 9 centers used a combination of sealants and bolstering-sutures. The intraoperative open conversion rate was 3.5% (21/592). Postoperative complications included bleeding in 15/592 (2.5%) and urine leak in 13/592 (2.1%). No tumor seeding was reported. LNSS has similar results of open partial nephrectomy. The use of hemostatic agents and/or sealants or tissue glues during LNSS is largely diffuse in European centers and may be an effective add on reducing bleeding and urine leakage when used in combination with bolstering-suturing.

A middle aged male patient (39 year old) presented with right renal pain. During evaluation a small renal stone was found in the right kidney, and a mass 6 cm in diameter related to the upper pole of the left kidney was discovered. An endocrinologic evaluation was negative and a laparoscopic transperitoneal adrenalectomy was performed. Final pathology was adrenocortical oncocytoma with malignant potential.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate is an extremely uncommon malignancy, accounting for less than 0.2-1% of all prostatic cancers. We report one case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate. This patient presented with lower urinary tract symptoms with acute urinary retention after TURP.

Genital leiomyomas of the scrotal skin are extremely rare benign tumors, originating from the tunica dartos of the scrotum. We report our experience with one patients with scrotal bizarre leiomyoma.

Non urotelial malignant neoplasm of the ureter has been rarely described, usually arising from muscular, vascular and nervous tissue. Primary lymphoma of the ureter is an uncommon finding; we report a case of primary Non Hodgkin Lymphoma of the ureter in young woman.