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We aim to evaluate the impact of preoperative thrombocytosis on oncological outcomes in patients with bladder cancer (BC) who undergo radical cystectomy (RC).Retrospective data collection of 1092 patients managed by RC for BC from 2 tertiary-care centers was performed. Elevated platelet count (PLT) was defined as 450 × 10The median follow-up was 50 months (32-64 months). Thrombocytosis was detected in 18.6% of the patients. The 3-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) for patients with normal PLT count was 92% which was higher than those with elevated PLT count (55%, P 0.001). Similar results were found for the 6-year CSS with 82% for the no thrombocytosis group and 27% for the thrombocytosis group. Thrombocytosis was still significantly associated with poor prognosis for overall survival and recurrence-free survival (P 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, CSS was significantly lower in patients with thrombocytosis (HR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.22-2.39, P = 0.002). Patients with elevated PLT counts were also significantly more likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy, to have a T stage pT2b (P = 0.024), to have a positive lymph node, to have variant histology and positive resection margins, and to have concomitant carcinoma in situ (CIS) on final pathology (all P 0.001).Preoperative thrombocytosis was valuable for predicting the oncological outcomes of patients undergoing RC for BC.

Objectives To assess the results of the stripping technique for endoscopic management of the distal ureter during nephroureterectomy. Methods Since 1995, 32 patients have undergone open nephroureterectomy involving stripping of the distal ureter for upper urinary tract carcinoma. After endoscopic placement of a Chevassu ureteral catheter, nephrectomy was performed using a lumbotomy approach. The catheter tip was tied to the top of the ureteral extremity. At the end of the intervention, the catheter was pulled out transurethrally to intussuscept the distal ureter. Endoscopic resection through the bladder muscular wall was performed around the everted ureteral orifice, then the distal ureter was stripped and removed with a bladder cuff. Results The mean operative time was 180 minutes, and the mean blood loss was 220 mL. The stripping failed in 6 patients (18.7%), requiring an iliac incision. The reasons for failure were a retained ureter in 5 cases and ureteral breakage in 1 case. The mean duration of urethral catheterization was 5 days, and the mean hospital stay was 8 days. The complication rate was 3.1%. At a median follow-up of 35.2 months, 9 patients (28.1%) had experienced recurrence: 6 with superficial bladder tumors, 2 with renal fossa recurrence, and 1 with asynchronous liver metastases. The disease-specific mortality rate was 9.4%. Conclusions These results confirm that the stripping technique for endoscopic management of the distal ureter during open nephroureterectomy is a simple and safe procedure.

We describe a method to reduce the number of shocks necessary to fragment renal stones during extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy by automatically taking into account stone movements.Echotrack computer software was developed and implemented on a lithotriptor. One software module uses image processing to detect instantaneous stone location based on ultrasound images generated by the lithotriptor. A second module uses the detected location to control the shock wave generator position, and automatically adjusts it to improve coincidence between the focal volume and stone. The reliability of the tracking algorithm was clinically tested in 65 patients with renal stones. These in vivo tests were qualitative and the goal was to assess software ability to track stones during actual treatments. A quantitative evaluation of the reduction in shocks necessary for fragmentation was performed in vitro. Artificial stones were moved according to computer generated trajectories. Each trajectory was applied once with and once without automatic adjustment of the generator position.The in vivo tests demonstrated software ability to track stones as far as they were visible in the images. During in vitro tests automatic adjustments of the generator position reduced the number of shocks necessary to fragment stones completely by a factor of 1.64.Image based renal stone tracking software that automatically adjusts the shock wave generator position according to the displacement of renal stones is useful during extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Treatment time was significantly shorter with this software.

The authors report the case of a patient hospitalised for an episode of massive haematuria with clots requiring drainage by urethral stent. After an initial work-up comprising CT urography, considered to be normal, and a non-contributive ureteroscopy, renal CT angiography was performed, revealing an intraparenchymal aneurysm of the right kidney, about 15 mm in diameter. Two embolizations of this vascular malformation avoided the need for haemostasis surgery.

Stage T1 grade 3 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder is associated with a high risk of tumor recurrence and progression. We report our experience with stage T1 grade 3 bladder tumors treated with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy in the last 10 years.We analyzed the outcome in 57 consecutive patients treated with intravesical BCG for stage T1 grade 3 bladder cancer between 1991 and 2001. After initial transurethral resection all patients received a 6-week course of BCG therapy consisting of 1 instillation weekly. All patients underwent systematic biopsies at the end of the first BCG course. Patients with negative biopsies received maintenance BCG therapy, consisting of intravesical instillations each week for 3 weeks given 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months after the first course. Patients with residual tumor received a second course of 6 weekly instillations. Time to tumor recurrence and progression, and the rate of patient survival were retrospectively analyzed.Median followup was 53 months (range 9 to 110). Minimum followup was 2 years in 36 cases (63.2%) and 5 years in 28 (49.1%). After the first BCG course 50 patients (87.7%) had no residual disease, while 7 (12.3%) had residual tumor. The recurrence and progression rates were 42.1% and 22.8%, respectively. The rate of delayed cystectomy was 14%. The rate of disease specific survival was 87.7%.Our study confirms that BCG therapy is effective conservative treatment for patients with stage T1 grade 3 bladder tumors.

The authors report a case of prepubic abscess in a young man presenting with pain. Surgical exploration revealed a group A Streptococcus abscess. The cause of this abscess was not determined.

Objectives: To evaluate the usefulness of a second transurethral resection for superficial and muscle-invasive bladder tumours. Methods: A review of the literature relevant to repeat resection for bladder tumours was conducted using Medline Services. Results: Transurethral resection of the bladder has two shortcomings: underestimating clinical stage, and overlooking other lesions. A second transurethral resection, when performed 2–6 weeks after the initial resection, corrects clinical staging errors in 9–49% of cases and detects residual tumour in 26–83% of cases. A second resection is particularly warranted for T1 tumours since 2–28% of them prove to be muscle-invasive, thus requiring a change in management. For muscle-invasive tumours, a second resection may be performed only if bladder sparing is being considered, as it helps to exclude the presence of tumour sites contra-indicating conservative treatment. Conclusions: A second transurethral bladder resection may be warranted for T1 tumours, and for invasive tumours when a bladder preservation is planned.

Study of the efficacy of intermittent endocrine therapy after failure of local treatment.74 patients were treated for biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy (n = 30), radiotherapy (n = 28) or radical prostatectomy followed by radiotherapy (n = 16). Treatment (63 patients were treated by antiandrogens alone, 8 by LHRH analogue and 3 by complete androgen suppression) was continued for 6 months after obtaining undetectable PSA levels for patients after radical prostatectomy (and restarted when PSA4 ng/ml) or a PSA nadir4 ng/ml for the other patients (and restarted for PSA10 ng/ml).The duration of periods without treatment represented 50% of the total treatment cycle. With a mean follow-up of 43.8 months, the overall 5-year biochemical progression-free survival rate was 54.6%. On multivariate analysis, factors predictive of biochemical progression were age less than 70 years (p = 0.05), Gleason score greater than or equal to 8 (p = 0.038) and the presence of lymph node metastases (p = 0.05).Intermittent endocrine therapy is a treatment option for patients with recurrence after local treatment. Candidates for intermittent endocrine therapy must be over the age of 70, with localized adenocarcinoma and a Gleason score less than or equal to 7.