Internal Urethral Meatus Research Articles

Primary Malignant Melanoma of the Bladder: A Rare Case Report

Background Primary malignant melanoma (PMM) of the bladder is a rare ailment and has a poor prognosis; only 40 cases of PMM reported in literature till date. In this case report we described a case of PMM of the bladder, treatment, and a review of the literature as the recommended treatment choices are not widely known. Case Presentation A 55-year-old Indian female came with a history of hematuria for two-months. Ultrasonography revealed a 18×16 mm size mass located in the antero-inferior wall of urinary bladder with involvement of bladder neck. She underwent transurethral resection of the bladder tumor outside and histologically reported to be malignant melanoma and confirmed on immunohistochemistry (IHC). No further primary sites of melanoma were found. Computed tomography (CT) showed an irregular enhancing mucosal thickening along internal urethral meatus and adjacent urinary bladder. The patient eventually underwent radical cystectomy with anterior pelvic exenteration with ileal conduit. Conclusion Primary bladder melanoma is very aggressive in nature. In most of the cases bladder malignant melanoma is secondary, so extensive search for any primary melanotic lesion is essential. It is often difficult to discriminate whether a bladder melanoma is primary or metastatic. Certain diagnostic features can be obtained through histopathological investigation, immuno-histochemistry, clinical history, and endoscopic evaluation. Despite a wide range of treatments, people with PMM still have a worst prognosis.

Ultrasound technique for the assessment of urethral descent assessment technique (UDAT) in healthy volunteers

Bladder neck descent (BND) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of stress incontinence and prolapse. The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel 2D technique for the evaluation of BND, the Urethral Descent Assessment Technique (UDAT). UDAT involves measuring BND during dynamic manoeuvres in live 2D ultrasound, by using the geometrical properties of parallel lines. The internal urethral meatus and distal end of the urethra are used as reference points. Y1 is the urethral height at rest (also the urethral length when the urethra is straight). Y2 is the urethral height on Valsalva. Y1 and Y2 are parallel lines. Y1–Y2 = BND. A horizontal line (X) connecting Y1 and Y2 is the forward movement of the bladder neck.Y1 mean 30.4 mm (95% CI ± 1.36 mm). Y2 mean 24.2 mm (95% CI ± 2.58 mm). X mean 12.1 mm (95% CI ± 1.66 mm). BND mean 6.2 mm (95% CI ± 1.47 mm). Bland–Altman plots and linear regression showed that UDAT is repeatable and reliable.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? Bladder neck descent (BND) has been associated with stress incontinence and prolapse nearly a century. In 1975, Green introduced a classification based on X-ray cysto-urethrograms. Between 1989 and 1995, a 2D technique was described that had several limitations.What do the results of this study add? This study validates a novel technique for the assessment of bladder neck descent using 2D ultrasound and provides a reference range of BND for normal nulliparous women.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? This is a simple and quick technique that could be adopted in research and clinical practice in the future to assess stress incontinence and anterior compartment prolapse.

A rare benign genitourinary tumor in a Japanese male: urinary retention owing to aggressive angiomyxoma of the prostate

Close examination of a 67-year-old Japanese man, who complained of persistent nocturia, revealed that a semitransparent polypoid tumor had developed from the bladder neck to the prostatic urethra obstructing the internal urethral meatus, which resulted in excessive urinary retention and post-renal dysfunction. The tumor was resected by a transurethral procedure and a pathological examination of specimens revealed aggressive angiomyxoma (AAM) of the prostate. AAM usually develops in the intrapelvic and perineal organs of females. So far as we know, this is the second case of primary prostatic AAM reported in the English literature, and is the first case where the patient encountered urethral obstruction.

Endoscopic Cross-Trigonal Ureteral Reimplantation Under Carbon Dioxide Bladder Insufflation: A Novel Technique

To report on a novel technique of endoscopic intravesical ureteral mobilization and cross-trigonal ureteral reimplantation under carbon dioxide insufflation of the bladder (pneumovesicum) for correcting primary vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in infants and children. Ten boys and six girls with dilating primary VUR (7 bilateral; 23 refluxing ureters) associated with recurrent urinary-tract infections and multiple pyelonephritic renal scars underwent endoscopic Cohen's cross-trigonal ureteral reimplantation with CO(2) pneumovesicum. Their ages ranged from 10 months to 13 years (mean 4.1 years). The endoscopic procedure was preceded by distention of the bladder with saline and insertion of a 5-mm Step port over the bladder dome under cystoscopic guidance. The bladder was then drained and insufflated with CO(2) to 10 to 12 mm Hg pressure with a suction catheter inserted per urethra to occlude the internal urethral meatus. A 5-mm 30 degrees endoscope was used to provide intravesical vision. Two more 3- to 5-mm working ports were inserted on the lateral bladder wall on either side. Endoscopic intravesical mobilization of the ureter, dissection of a submucosal tunnel, and a Cohen's type of crosstrigonal ureteral reimplantation using interrupted 5-0 monofilament sutures was then performed under videoscopic guidance. Bladder drainage by a urethral catheter was maintained for 24 hours postoperatively. Endoscopic cross-trigonal ureteral reimplantation under CO(2) pneumovesicum was successfully performed in all except one patient, who had displacement of a port into the extravesical space after completion of the ureteral reimplantation necessitating a small vesicotomy for closure of the mucosal defect. The mean operating time was 136 minutes (range 80-230 minutes), being 112 minutes for unilateral cases and 178 minutes for bilateral cases. Two boys developed mild suprapubic and scrotal emphysema postoperatively that subsided spontaneously. All other patients recovered uneventfully and remained well. Follow-up cystograms showed complete resolution of VUR in all except one unit that had persistent grade I reflux, thus giving a success rate of 96%. This early experience illustrates that endoscopic intravesical ureteral mobilization and crosstrigonal ureteral reimplantation can be performed safely and effectively with routine laparoscopic surgical techniques and instruments under CO(2) insufflation of the bladder, achieving a high success rate in reflux resolution that is equivalent to that obtained with the open technique but with minimal invasiveness and much faster recovery. The longer-term outcome and potential physiological effects of CO(2) pneumovesicum on the bladder and upper-tract function will need to be evaluated further.

The axial location of structural regions in the urethra: a magnetic resonance study in nulliparous women

Objective To define and quantify the appearance and location of distinct regions of the bladder neck and urethra by using axial magnetic resonance images from healthy, continent, nulliparous women. Methods Seventy-eight asymptomatic, healthy, nulliparous women (mean age 29.2 ± 5.4 years) volunteered for this study. All women were proven continent on urodynamic examination. Axial proton density magnetic resonance images of the pelvic floor were analyzed at 5-mm intervals. A geometric origin was established at the internal urethral meatus. The presence or absence of each of six structural regions—the bladder base, bladder neck, striated urethral sphincter, compressor urethrae and urethrovaginal sphincter, perineal membrane, and distal urethra—was then noted in each more distal image. The proportion of women in whom a structural region was seen at each 5-mm interval was recorded. Results The striated urogenital sphincter was observed at 5–25 mm distal to the bladder base. It was observed 10 and 15 mm below the bladder base in 91% (95% confidence interval [CI] 85%, 98%) and 99% (95% CI 97%, 100%), respectively, of all women. The perineal membrane, marking the distal end of the muscular urethra, was located 20–35 mm distal to the bladder base. The length of the muscular region of the urethra ranged from 20 to 35 mm (mean 24 mm, 95% CI 24, 25 mm). Conclusion Magnetic resonance images allow the normal appearance and location of urethral and bladder neck structures to be quantified in healthy, continent, nulliparous women.

The anatomy of midurethral slings and dynamics of neurovascular injury.

The aim of this study was to investigate the course of midurethral slings using tension-free vaginal tape. The TVT procedure was performed on six fresh pelves, measurements were obtained, and the structures were cross-referenced in 16 embalmed pelves. The midurethral sling enters the suburethral tissue 2.2-3 cm caudad to the internal urethral meatus, pierces the paraurethral musculature and vascular plexus, and exits 2+/-0.5 cm from the midline lateral to the point of insertion of the arcus tendineus fasciae pelvis. On the pubic tubercle the sling is 4+/-0.5 cm, 4+/-1 cm and 6+/-1 cm from the accessory obturator, the inferior epigastric and the external iliac vessels, respectively. The critical angle of error resulting in the external iliac vessel injury is 7-15 degrees. A current knowledge of pelvic anatomy may help the surgeon avoid the neural and vascular structures that are in the path of the sling.

The use of perineal ultrasound to quantify levator activity and teach pelvic floor muscle exercises.

Perineal ultrasound was used to detect and quantify levator activity by measuring the displacement of the internal urethral meatus against the inferoposterior margin of the symphysis pubis. Women who had previously been instructed in pelvic floor muscle exercises were more likely to contract the levator muscle when asked to do so than were those without previous instruction (P<0.0001). Of the 56 women who were unable to contract the pelvic floor on request, 32 (57%) eventually succeeded with visual ultrasound biofeedback. Pelvic floor muscle assessment and teaching can be used as an adjunct to the ultrasound assessment of urogynecologic patients, requiring at most 5 minutes. It allows quantification of lavator activity and can provide visual biofeedback, which is easily understood and readily accepted by women.

Introitussonographie in der Inkontinenzdiagnostik. Der Symphysen-Blasenhals-Abstand (SBHA) bei Stress- und Urgeinkontinenz

Die Messung des Symphysen-Blasenhals-Abstandes (SBHA) mit Hilfe der Introitussonographie ermöglicht eine rasche Beurteilung der gestörten Topographie der Blasenhalsregion bei Stressinkontinenz (SIK) und Descensus genitalis. Es wurde untersucht, ob sich der SBHA von Patientinnen mit Stress- oder Urgeinkontinenz von kontinenten Frauen unterscheidet. Weiterhin wurde der SBHA prä- und postoperativ bei Kolporrhaphia ant. und Kolposuspension nach Burch gemessen.

The urethral pressure profile and ultrasound imaging of the lower urinary tract.

In a prospective study 105 patients with symptoms of stress incontinence underwent video-urodynamic testing, including resting urethral pressure profilometry and translabial ultrasound. The urethral pressure profile (UPP) included maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP), functional length (FL) and area under the curve (AUC). Ultrasound parameters included urethral thickness, urethral rotation and bladder neck descent, as well as funneling/opening of the internal urethral meatus on Valsalva maneuver. Levator contraction strength was assessed measuring the cranioventral displacement of the internal meatus. Negative correlations between UPP data and age, parity and previous surgery were observed which were consistent with literature data. There was a positive correlation between the urethral AP diameter on ultrasound and the MUCP, which agrees with reports showing reduced sphincter thickness or volume in stress-incontinent women. Hypermobility on ultrasound did not correlate with UPP data. However, a lower MUCP correlated with extensive opening of the bladder neck. Finally, there was a trend towards poorer pelvic floor function with lower MUCP measurements.

Examination of the urethrovesical junction using perineal sonography compared to urethrocystography using a bead chain

Morphologic investigation of the urethrovesical junction combined with urodynamic findings is necessary to choose the correct surgical procedure for female stress incontinence. This study compares colpourethrocystography and perineal sonography in 41 patients with genuine stress incontinence, 30 patients after Burch colposuspension and 40 healthy control women. The study determined the inclination angle, the pubourethral angle, the posterior vesicourethral angle and as the distance H between the lower pubis and the internal urethral meatus. Introital sonography avoids exposure of the patient to X-irradiation and gives similar findings to urethrocystography. Sonography is a fast, easy to perform, inexpensive and reproducible method which is well accepted to the patient. It may be very important in evaluating the morphologic effect of incontinence surgery instead of urethrocystography.

Zur operativen Behandlung der Rezidivstreßinkontinenz: Burch-versus Lyoduraschlingenoperation - eine prospektive Studie

This prospective randomised study involved 52 female patients suffering from recurrent stress urinary incontinence, objectively confirmed by means of clinical incontinence tests and urodynamic examinations. They alternatively underwent colposuspension according to Burch or suburethral sling procedure surgery. Urodynamic and sonographic examinations were carried out before and 2.5 years (i.e. within a range of 2-3) after surgery according to Burch or suburethral sling procedure. There was no significant difference between the two methods with respect to subjective and objective rate of cure, which amounted to 85% of the cases involving colposuspension and 88% of cases involving the suburethral sling procedure. Both methods resulted in a significant improvement of the depression quotient and a significant elevation of the internal urethral meatus (p < 0.05). Apart from an aggravation of urge symptoms in both groups, the patients with surgery according to Burch tended towards enterocele and rectocele in the medium range, whereas urination disorders had to be accepted in the patients operated on according to the sling procedure in the long term.

A form of stress incontinence in children: another method of bladder neck repair.

A form of stress incontinence encountered in five children associated with trauma to the internal sphincter bears some resemblance symptomatically to the stress incontinence of adults. In all five children the internal urethral meatus was lax and enlarged. Repair was undertaken by a method of bipennation and keeling of the urethrotrigonal muscles which form the internal sphincter of the bladder. Restoration of continence and of the muscular collar at the bladder neck as displayed radiographically indicates the prime importance of the internal sphincter mass of muscle with respect to urinary control. The intraurethral method of correction described may have a place in the management of a selected group of adult stress incontinence patients.