This effort represents a subset analysis of the long-term Multicenter North American Trial of the UroLume sphincter stent prosthesis to determine the effect of the sphincter stent prosthesis in SCI men afflicted with detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia (DESD) and chronically managed with an indwelling urinary catheter. Forty-one of 153 male patients in this study were evaluated urodynamically before and after placement of the sphincter stent prosthesis. Of the 41 patients, 34 (81 percent) suffered cervical-level injury while 10 patients (25 percent) had been treated previously with external sphincterotomy. Forty patients (98 percent) were troubled with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI), with a mean of 4.6 +/- 3 episodes of UTI per year. Seven patients (17 percent) demonstrated hydronephrosis prior to stent placement. Follow-up ranged from six to 44 months. Voiding pressures decreased from a mean of 77 +/- 23 cmH2O preoperatively to 35 +/- 18 cmH2O at 12 months (n = 34) and 33 +/- 20 cmH2O at 24 months (n = 22) after stent insertion (p = 0.001). Post-void residual urinary volume decreased from 202 +/- 187 ml preinsertion to 64 +/- 69 ml at 24 months (p = 0.001) postinsertion. Maximum cystometric capacity remained constant at 201 +/- 144 ml preinsertion to 203 +/- 79 ml at 24 months (p = 0.75) postinsertion. No significant changes in any of the urodynamic parameters occurred after 24 months of follow-up between patients with (n = 10) and without (n = 31) previous external sphincterotomy. Neither hemorrhage requiring blood transfusion, obstructive hyperplastic epithelial overgrowth, stent encrustation or stone formation, nor soft tissue erosion occurred in any patient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the safety and efficacy of subtrigonal, periureteral injections of autogenous fat grafts for the treatment of vesicoureteral reflux. Seven patients (12 renal units) with vesicoureteral reflux were treated with subtrigonal autogenous fat injection. Fat harvesting was obtained from abdominal and thigh subcutaneous tissue. Approximately 2 ml of fat was injected beneath each ureteral orifice with a modified 10 Fr needle through a 23.5 Fr rigid cystoscope. Two of the seven patients experienced durable (six months) resolution of reflux. In three patients, reflux resolved but recurred within three months and another developed recurrent reflux within six months. In one patient with a periureteral diverticulum, proper positioning of the needle tip for effective fat injection was not possible, resulting in persistent reflux. Two of the five patients with persistent reflux demonstrated a diminished grade of reflux on follow-up cystography. Neither complications nor ureteral obstruction have been encountered. The subtrigonal injection technique can be used with autogenous adipose tissue to treat vesicoureteral reflux. Anatomic variation may determine those patients less likely to enjoy durable results. Clinical success and reabsorption of the fat cannot be predicted or controlled at the present time. The ideal periureteral bulking agent for the treatment of vesicoureteral reflux remains to be determined.

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of desmopressin (DDAVP), a synthetic analogue of antidiuretic hormone, as an alternative therapy in the management of spinal cord injured (SCI) patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction unresponsive to conventional therapy. Seven SCI patients (three men and four women) were treated with DDAVP after urodynamic evaluation. Despite treatment with anticholinergic agents, urodynamic evaluation demonstrated uninhibited detrusor contractions exceeding 30 cm H2O pressure at less than 300 ml cystometric capacity in all seven patients. Three patients had been managed with intermittent self-catheterization, but had socially unacceptable short intervals between catheterizations. Two women with incomplete injury were afflicted with significant nocturia (> 3 episodes/night). The remaining two patients managed with intermittent self-catheterization were troubled with nocturnal enuresis. The patients received 10 micrograms intranasal DDAVP once every 24 hours. Prior to DDAVP administration, the four patients who used DDAVP nightly experienced a median of four episodes of nocturia. After one month of DDAVP treatment, two patients had only one episode of nocturia per night and in the other two patients, nocturnal enuresis was completely eliminated. Three patients used daytime DDAVP administration at work to avoid frequent catheterization. The median period between bladder catheterizations increased from 2.5 hours before DDAVP to 6 hours while using DDAVP. Symptomatic improvement persisted during the follow-up period of 6-20 months (mean = 12). Side effects were infrequent; only one patient complained of transient headaches. Neither hyponatremia nor serum electrolyte abnormalities occurred. Our preliminary results suggest that DDAVP is safe and effective in the symptomatic management of complicated neurogenic bladder dysfunction in selected SCI patients.

Deterioration of the germinal epithelium of the testis is a known sequela of spinal cord injury (SCI) that may influence the outcome of male reproductive rehabilitation efforts. Quantitative testicular biopsy, currently regarded as the standard of assessing the integrity of spermatogenesis, has not gained wide-spread clinical use because of its invasive nature and relative technical complexity. Alternatively, aspiration DNA flow cytometry analysis of the testis has offered a potential method of spermatogenic assessment that meets both the requirements of simplicity and objectivity. The objective of this study is to determine the capability of flow cytometry to assess spermatogenesis following SCI. Eleven SCI men underwent incisional testicular biopsy with the specimen simultaneously submitted for quantitative evaluation of the germinal epithelium by both quantitative histometry and DNA flow cytometry. The haploid percentage of cells showed highly significant levels of correlation with key micrometric parameters of the quantitative testicular biopsy: spermatid/tubule (p < 0.002) and the spermatid/Sertoli cell ratio (p < 0.0005). Since tissue procurement is accomplished less invasively for flow cytometry analysis, we recommend this method as the modality of assuring integrity of the germinal epithelium in candidates for reproductive rehabilitation.