Letter from the Editor - June 2013
Dear Colleagues,
Like the spring weather, Urotoday International Journal boasts its own mix of interesting and unpredictable articles of note that are sure to engage and interest our readers. We are proud of the encouraging variety of submissions and the discussion they will create in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Singh et al. assessed the effectiveness of using intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP) in correctly predicting bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) in symptomatic patients with BPH. In these patients, they compared IPP with other parameters of BOO like prostate volume, bladder wall thickness, PVR, and uroflowmetry. They conclude that bladder wall thickness and post-void residue in conjunction with IPP are good predictors of clinically significant BOO due to BPH.
Khan and colleagues discuss the incidence of immediate graft function (IGF), identify events causing delayed graft function (DGF), slow graft function, and factors that promote IGF in our living donor transplant recipients using kidneys recovered exclusively by open donor nephrectomy (ODN). They conclude that ODN is associated with excellent IGF and recommend it.
Nath et al. aim at determining the role of testosterone as a lithogenic factor and its relation to urinary and stone components. They found higher serum-free and total testosterone, and 24 hours of urinary oxalate in male stone formers compared to non-stone formers. A larger prospective study is necessary to establish testosterone as a lithogenic factor in male former-stone patients.
The team of Falahatkar et al. compares complications and outcomes of totally ultrasonic versus fluoroscopically guided complete supine percutaneous nephrolithotomy (csPCNL). Through their findings, they demonstrate that totally ultrasonic had similar outcomes to fluoroscopic csPCNL in selected cases and conclude that ultrasonography can be an alternative to fluoroscopy in csPCNL.
Al-Asali and team assess if the AJUST® SIS would be an effective alternative to the TOT in a cohort of patients who have urodynamic stress incontinence with concomitant detrusor overactivity, voiding difficulty, high BMI, or those with previous retropubic surgery. Mean postoperative pain scores were low with no de novo groin pain. All women had satisfactory postoperative voiding and a negative cough stress test at 6 weeks of follow-up. At the 2-year follow-up, 89% had still improved.
Finally, Draga et al. present a study that investigates the accuracy of reproducing bladder coordinates during transurethral resection using an optical navigation system, as a first step to assess the feasibility of accurate navigation-assisted resection of bladder tumors. They show that navigation-assisted mapping of the bladder is accurate with constant bladder volumes.
We also present a series of case studies on several topics, including idiopathic urethral strictures, late bladder erosion complications, and primary vulval tuberculosis.
As always, we are grateful to our sustained readership, our devoted authors, and our hard-working editorial board that continues to work tirelessly to make UIJ a distinguished journal in the field.
Sincerely,
Karl-Erik Andersson
