Introduction: Transurethral lithotripsy (TUL) is an appropriate treatment for ureteral stones and is usually used for stones in the middle and lower part of the ureter. Different devices such as the Holmium laser, the stone basket, and the stone cone exist to prevent any fragments from retropulsion during TUL. The present study aims to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the Holmium laser, the stone basket, and the stone cone. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted from September 2016 to January 2018 comparing various TUL methods in 88 subjects with proximal ureteral calculi. The study participants were divided into 4 matched groups. The first one included 20 patients undergoing TUL with no device (group 1), the second group included 22 patients undergoing TUL while using the stone retrieval basket, the third group included 18 patients undergoing TUL while utilizing the stone cone and the fourth group included 28 patients undergoing TUL while using the Hol-YAG laser. Results: A residual stone ≥3 mm was recorded in 15.9% of the patients. The stone free rate was seen in 100%, 90.9, 83.3%, and 55% of the Holmium laser group, the retrieval basket group, the stone cone group and the no device group respectively (P=0.001). The lowest rate of surgery complications including ureteral perforation, post-operative fever, and mucosal damage between the 4 groups (P=0.003) and the highest time of surgery (P=0.001) belonged to the laser group. If we want to ignore the laser group, the success rate for lithotripsy was better in both groups with a stone retrieval device compared to the no device group, but no advantage existed between the stone basket and the stone cone. Conclusion: We can safely conclude that lasers significantly help to prevent stone migration during TUL. If we want to ignore the laser group, the success rate for lithotripsy was significantly better in both groups with a stone retrieval device compared to the no device group, but no advantage existed between the stone basket and the stone cone.

No abstract

Ovarian cryopreservation is one of the effective methods to preserve fertility for cancer patients. Still, some problems have been expressed with this approach, namely ROS, resulting in adverse effects on oocytes and ovarian follicles. Kisspeptin as an antioxidant control ovarian function, directly or indirectly. In this study, the effect of kisspeptin on follicle maturation was evaluated in culture following ovarian cryopreservation. Ovarian tissue samples of women between 20 and 35 years old (n = 12) were collected laparoscopically. Samples were randomly divided into four groups: 1) control, 2) vitrification, 3) vitrified + 1µM kisspeptin, and 4) vitrified + 10µM kisspeptin. After vitrification and thawing processes, the tissues were cultured in DMEM medium for 7 days. H&E staining for histological evaluation, Real-Time PCR for GDF9 and BMP15 gene expression, and immunohistochemical staining for GDF9 and BMP15 protein expression were performed. In the vitrification group, ovarian tissue morphology was incoherent, and more primordial follicles than other follicle types were found. The expression of GDF9 and BMP15 genes and proteins were significantly decreased in this group compared with other groups (p < 0.05). In the vitrification groups with kisspeptin (1 and 10 µM), the number of primary and secondary follicles was more than in the vitrification group. Besides, the expression of these genes and proteins was dramatically elevated in the vitrification groups with kisspeptin compared to the vitrification group (p < 0.05). It seems that kisspeptin is an effective substance to improve the quality of the human ovarian cryopreservation medium by improving the maturity of follicles.