Preoperative diagnosis of the primary fallopian tube carcinoma by three-dimensional static and power Doppler sonography. (1/35)

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether three-dimensional static and power Doppler ultrasound improves the diagnosis of primary Fallopian tube carcinoma. METHODS: During a 2-year period five cases of primary Fallopian tube carcinoma were selected from a cohort of 520 patients with a previous scan suggestive of an adnexal tumor. RESULTS: Tubal malignancy occurred in patients between 49 and 64 years, with presenting symptoms such as pain, vaginal bleeding and leukorrhea. CA 125 was elevated in three cases of tubal carcinoma with stages II and III, while in two patients with stage I, CA 125 was within the normal limits. Two-dimensional ultrasound demonstrated sausage shaped cystic masses with papillary projections in two patients and a complex adnexal mass in one patient. Three-dimensional ultrasound revealed sausage shaped cystic and/or complex masses with papillary projections in all five cases of tubal malignancy. In one patient preoperative 3-D ultrasound correctly predicted bilateral tumors, while 2-D transvaginal sonography found only unilateral changes. Additional 3-D power Doppler examination depicted vascular geometry typical for malignant tumor vessels such as arteriovenous shunts, microaneurysms, tumoral lakes, blind ends and dichotomous branching in each of the cases with Fallopian tube carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional ultrasound allows precise depiction of tubal wall irregularities such as papillary protrusions and pseudosepta. Improved understanding of anatomical relationships may aid in distinguishing ovarian from tubal pathology. Multiple sections of the tubal sausage like structures enable determination of local tumor spread and capsule infiltration. Study of the vascular architecture in cases of Fallopian tube malignancy is further enhanced using 3-D power Doppler imaging.  (+info)

Laparoscopic versus open high ligation of the testicular veins for the treatment of varicocele. (2/35)

The purpose of this study is to determine the relative advantages of laparoscopic varicocelectomy compared to the conventional open high ligation of Palomo. We studied 193 patients who presented with varicocele. While 65 patients were treated by open high ligation of the testicular veins, 128 patients had laparoscopic varicocelectomy. In addition to varicocele ligation, 14 patients (11%) had laparoscopy-assisted right orchidopexy, and 5 patients (4%) had laparoscopic repair of concomitant right inguinal hernia. The mean hospital stay was 3.5 days and 1.3 days, respectively, and the recurrence rates were 10.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Return to normal activity was significantly earlier in Group II (mean 4.5 days) compared to Group I (mean 8.9 days). There was no incidence of testicular atrophy in any case in the study, regardless of whether the testicular artery was ligated or preserved during surgery. We conclude that laparoscopic varicocelectomy is safe, effective and minimally invasive. In addition to its better cosmetic results and advantage in case of bilateral disease, it allows excellent exposure and control of the affected vessels. Furthermore, the shorter hospital stay and the earlier return to normal activities are very important advantages in recommending this technique as an efficient alternative to the open surgical method.  (+info)

Spectral entropy as an electroencephalographic measure of anesthetic drug effect: a comparison with bispectral index and processed midlatency auditory evoked response. (3/35)

BACKGROUND: The authors compared the behavior of two calculations of electroencephalographic spectral entropy, state entropy (SE) and response entropy (RE), with the A-Line ARX Index (AAI) and the Bispectral Index (BIS) and as measures of anesthetic drug effect. They compared the measures for baseline variability, burst suppression, and prediction probability. They also developed pharmacodynamic models relating SE, RE, AAI, and BIS to the calculated propofol effect-site concentration (Ceprop). METHODS: With institutional review board approval, the authors studied 10 patients. All patients received 50 mg/min propofol until either burst suppression greater than 80% or mean arterial pressure less than 50 mmHg was observed. SE, RE, AAI, and BIS were continuously recorded. Ceprop was calculated from the propofol infusion profile. Baseline variability, prediction of burst suppression, prediction probability, and Spearman rank correlation were calculated for SE, RE, AAI, and BIS. The relations between Ceprop and the electroencephalographic measures of drug effect were estimated using nonlinear mixed effect modeling. RESULTS: Baseline variability was lowest when using SE and RE. Burst suppression was most accurately detected by spectral entropy. Prediction probability and individualized Spearman rank correlation were highest for BIS and lowest for SE. Nonlinear mixed effect modeling generated reasonable models relating all four measures to Ceprop. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with BIS and AAI, both SE and RE seem to be useful electroencephalographic measures of anesthetic drug effect, with low baseline variability and accurate burst suppression prediction. The ability of the measures to predict Ceprop was best for BIS.  (+info)

Microlaparoscopy in sex reassignment surgery. (4/35)

Sex reassignment (male to female surgery) is a standard operation which is aimed at constructing female genitalia and obtaining a cosmetic and functional result that is similar to that of a normal female subject. The ideal surgical procedure has not yet been described, but the various techniques which have been proposed in the literature are similar. The most cumbersome maneuver of the procedure is that of creating a neovaginal cavity inside the perineum. This step is generally carried out by means of blunt dissection between the rectal wall and the prostate, but most of the surgery is blindly performed without visual control. In these conditions, the risk of rectal injury is high, and may lead to severe intraoperative complications. Microlaparoscopy allows for a direct observation of the perineal dissection from inside the peritoneal cavity, thus avoiding risk of rectal injury. The technique is simple to perform, is non-invasive, and only 15 minutes are added to the operation.  (+info)

Abdominal sacrocolpopexy with Burch colposuspension to reduce urinary stress incontinence. (5/35)

BACKGROUND: We designed this trial to assess whether the addition of standardized Burch colposuspension to abdominal sacrocolpopexy for the treatment of pelvic-organ prolapse decreases postoperative stress urinary incontinence in women without preoperative symptoms of stress incontinence. METHODS: Women who did not report symptoms of stress incontinence and who chose to undergo sacrocolpopexy to treat prolapse were randomly assigned to concomitant Burch colposuspension or to no Burch colposuspension (control) and were evaluated in a blinded fashion three months after the surgery. The primary outcomes included measures of stress incontinence (symptoms, stress testing, or treatment) and measures of urge symptoms. Enrollment was stopped after the first interim analysis because of a significantly lower frequency of stress incontinence in the group that underwent the Burch colposuspension. RESULTS: Of 322 women who underwent randomization, 157 were assigned to Burch colposuspension and 165 to the control group. Three months after surgery, 23.8 percent of the women in the Burch group and 44.1 percent of the controls met one or more of the criteria for stress incontinence (P<0.001). There was no significant difference between the Burch group and the control group in the frequency of urge incontinence (32.7 percent vs. 38.4 percent, P=0.48). After surgery, women in the control group were more likely to report bothersome symptoms of stress incontinence than those in the Burch group who had stress incontinence (24.5 percent vs. 6.1 percent, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In women without stress incontinence who are undergoing abdominal sacrocolpopexy for prolapse, Burch colposuspension significantly reduced postoperative symptoms of stress incontinence without increasing other lower urinary tract symptoms.  (+info)

Impalpable testes--is imaging really helpful? (6/35)

The study evaluated the role of imaging studies in the diagnosis of impalpable undescended testes. A total of 40 children referred with 45 impalpable undescended testes had an ultrasound scan and clinical examination by a pediatric surgeon. 22 out of these 45 testes were found to be palpable on clinical examination by a pediatric surgeon. Of the remaining 23 boys (23 units of testes), 21 underwent MRI scan for identification of testes and results were compared with findings at laparoscopy. The diagnostic agreement of ultrasound and MRI in correctly localizing the testes was 19% and 52% respectively whereas the sensitivity of detection was 60% and 55% respectively. Imaging studies therefore have a limited role in pre-surgical evaluation of boys with impalpable testes.  (+info)

Birth prevalence of cryptorchidism and hypospadias in northern England, 1993-2000. (7/35)

AIM: There is much debate as to whether the prevalence rates of cryptorchidism and hypospadias are increasing. To address this issue we investigated the birth prevalence of cryptorchidism and hypospadias in the northern region of England during the period 1993-2000. METHODS: Cases of cryptorchidism and hypospadias were identified from northern region hospital episodes statistics (HES). Trends in birth prevalence, based on the number of male live births, were assessed using linear regression. RESULTS: Prevalence was 7.6 per 1000 male live births for cryptorchidism and 3.1 per 1000 male live births for hypospadias. The orchidopexy rates for 0-4 year olds and 5-14 year olds were 1.8 and 0.8 per 1000 male population, respectively. The rates for hypospadias repair for 0-4 year olds and 5-14 year olds were 0.6 and 0.1 per 1000 male population, respectively. There was a statistically significant decreasing temporal trend for the corrective procedure in cryptorchidism of 0.1 per 1000 male population aged under 5 years per annum (95% confidence interval: -0.01 to -0.05, p<0.001), but no temporal change for the corrective procedure in hypospadias (p = 0.60). CONCLUSION: HES data were of high quality for the study period. There was no significant change in the prevalence of surgically corrected hypospadias. However, there was an apparent decline in the prevalence of surgically corrected cryptorchidism that may reflect a decrease in the prevalence of the condition or may be due to a decrease in the rate of surgical intervention.  (+info)

Gastrointestinal complications following abdominal sacrocolpopexy for advanced pelvic organ prolapse. (8/35)

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this secondary analysis of the "Colpopexy And Urinary Reduction Efforts" (CARE) study were to estimate the incidence of postoperative gastrointestinal complications and identify risk factors. STUDY DESIGN: We prospectively identified gastrointestinal complications and serious adverse events (SAE) for 12 months after sacrocolpopexy. Two surgeons independently reviewed reports of ileus or small bowel obstruction (SBO). RESULTS: Eighteen percent of 322 women (average age 61.3 years) reported "nausea, emesis, bloating, or ileus" during hospitalization and 9.8% at 6 weeks. Nineteen women (5.9%; CI 3.8%, 9.1%) had a possible ileus or SBO that generated SAE reports: 4 (1.2%, CI 0.5%,3.2%) were reoperated for SBO, 11 (3.4%, CI 1.9%,6.1%) were readmitted for medical management, and 4 had a prolonged initial hospitalization. Older age (P < .001) was a risk factor for ileus or SBO. CONCLUSION: One in 20 women experiences significant gastrointestinal morbidity after sacrocolpopexy. This information will aid preoperative counseling.  (+info)