Urethral duplication is a rare congenital anomaly, affecting mainly boys. Clinical presentation varies because of the different anatomical patterns of this abnormality. We report our experience in ten males affected by urethral duplication. We retrospectively reviewed the records of ten males affected by urethral duplication. Mild cases of distal type I duplications as well as "Y-type" duplication associated to anorectal malformation were excluded. Evaluation included voiding cystourethrography, retrograde urethrography, intravenous urography and urethrocystoscopy. Mean age at diagnosis was 46.7 +/- 32.3 months A blind ending duplicated urethra (type I) was present in three patients, two urethras originating from a common bladder neck (type II A2) in three, an "Y-type" duplication in three and a complete bladder with incomplete urethral duplication in one. Surgical management included excision of the duplicated urethra in four patients while a displacement of the ventral urethra (in "Y-type" duplication) in perineal-scrotal or scrotal position was performed in two patients as first stage of urethral reconstruction. Good cosmetical and functional results were achieved in all six treated boys while surgical management was not required in four. Urethral duplication is often associated with genito-urinary and gastro-intestinal abnormalities. Embryology is unclear and a lot of hypotheses have been proposed. We believe that the same embryological explanation cannot be applied to all subtypes of urethral duplication. Management must be evaluated for each case. The overall prognosis is good, in spite of the presence of other severe associate congenital anomalies.

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We conclude that levobupivacaine 0.25% 1 mL kg(-1) provides caudal block of comparable onset and duration, as produced by the same volume and concentration of ropivacaine.

obot teleoperation is inherently related to sensor data transmission. Sensor data can be interpreted by the robotic system before being transmitted and presented to a user. This typically happens with sonar and laser sensors. In other cases, sensor data can directly be presented to a user to let him or her interpret the transmitted information. This happens, for example, with visual data. Robot teleoperation systems typically rely on two-dimensional (2-D) displays. These systems suffer from many limitations, e.g., misjudgment of self-motion and spatial localization; limited comprehension of remote ambient layout, object size, and shape; etc. This leads to unwanted collisions during navigation and long training periods for an operator. An advantageous alternative to traditional 2-D (monoscopic) visualization systems is represented by the use of stereoscopic viewing. In the literature, we can find works demonstrating that stereoscopic visualization may provide a user with a higher sense of presence in remote environments because of higher depth perception, leading to higher comprehension of distance as well as aspects related to it, e.g., ambient layout, obstacle perception, and maneuver accuracy [2]-[6], [10]. The earlier conclusions can in principle be extended to teleguided robot navigation, where the use of stereo vision is expected to improve the navigation performance and driver capabilities [3]-[6]. However, it is hard to find works in the literature addressing stereoscopic mobile robot teleguide. In addition, it is not straightforward how stereo viewing would be an advantage for indoor workspaces where the ambient layout, typically man-made, would be simple and emphasizing monocular depth cues such as perspective, texture gradient, etc., hence diminishing the advantage of a binocular stereo. The goal of the proposed work is to analyze the characteristics and advantages of a telerobotic system based on video transmission and stereoscopic viewing. The proposed investigation follows a systematic approach based on the identification of main factors and a usability evaluation designed according them. Two different three-dimensional (3-D) visualization facilities are considered to evaluate its performance on systems with different characteristics, cost, and application context. The aim is to gain an insight into the problem and to understand on what system, and to what extent, is the stereo viewing beneficial. In the next section, we introduce visual sensors and stereo viewing. Then, the proposed investigation strategy is presented, followed by experimental design, test setup, and result analysis. Some final remarks conclude the article. Video-Based Teleoperation and Stereo Viewing When operating in unknown or hazardous environments, accurate robot navigation is of paramount importance. Errors and collisions must be minimized. Performance in robot teleoperation can