Objectives:The usefulness of a malleable penile prosthesis was evaluated in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) by investigating the complications and the patients' satisfaction. Methods: A total of 48 patients with a SCI, who underwent malleable penile prosthesis (AMS 600) insertion from 1990 to 2004 were evaluated by reviewing the patients' medical records and interviewing them via questionnaires. The mean patients age was 58.9 years, and the mean follow-up period was 11.7 years. In 23 patients, penile prosthesis implantation was carried out to improve urinary management and to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). Results: Complications occurred in eight patients (16.7%). Wound infections in four (8.3%). Two patients were treated with conservative management, and two were managed through prostheses removal. Other complications were erosion in two patients (4.2%), uncontrolled penile pain owing to excessive prosthesis length in one patient (2.1%), and supersonic transporter (SST) deformity in one patient (2.1%). The overall patient satisfaction rate was 79.2%. The dissatisfaction was mainly due to the complications that resulted in the removal of the prosthesis, or partner's unnatural sensation. All of the prostheses that were implanted in the patients for the improvement of their urinary management gave them the benefit of convenient urinary management, except for two patients, whose prostheses were removed. Conclusions: The insertion of malleable penile prostheses in patients with SCI is associated with low complication rates and good patient satisfaction. It is therefore still an attractive option.

The aim of this study was to establish hazard ratios for the risk of complications of the upper urinary tract in relation to bladder management methods in patients with spinal cord injury. A total of 179 male patients were eligible for this investigation which was followed-up on a yearly basis until 2003. The average age at which the lesion occurred was 25.2 years (range 18-57). The average duration of follow-up since SCI was 29.3 years (range 10-53). During follow-up, the incidence of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) was 15.1%. A total of 61 (34.1%) and 44 (24.6%) patients were diagnosed with pyelonephritis and renal stones, respectively. There were no significant differences in these complications among groups. Upper tract deterioration (UTD) was observed in 58 patients (32.4%). The incidence of UTD in the urethral catheter group (51.7%) was higher than that in other groups (P=0.008). Using multivariate analysis, patients with VUR were shown to have a higher risk of pyelonephritis (odds ratio 2.78; 95% confidence interval 1.16-6.68), and UTD (odds ratio 22.10; 95% confidence interval 6.92-70.56). We also found that UTD was more common for patients with an indwelling urethral catheter than for patients using other methods. For other variables, no positive association was observed. In cases which cannot undergo intermittent catheterization, or when the bladder cannot empty spontaneously, a suprapubic catheter is better than a urethral catheter for reducing UTD in this population. These findings suggest that even at a late stage post injury, bladder management methods are still important.

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The aim of the study was to assess the utility of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as a predictor of prostate volume indexes (total prostate volume (TPV), transition zone volume and transition zone index) in Korean men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). From September 2003 to April 2006, 3431 patients with LUTS were included in the study; they had a median age of 63.8 years, a median prostate volume of 22.6 ml and a median serum PSA of 1.04 ng/ml. Men with a baseline PSA of 410 ng/ml were excluded, to reduce the likelihood of including occult prostate cancer. Prostate volume indexes and serum PSA levels had an age-dependent log-linear relationship. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that PSA had good predictive value for various prostate volume indexes thresholds. The approximate age-specific criteria for detecting men with a TPV of 440 ml are PSA levels of 1.20, 1.44 and 1.72 ng/ml for men with LUTS in their sixth, seventh and eighth decades, respectively. The results show that serum PSA identifies Korean men with large prostates reasonably well. Korean men may produce and/or release more PSA per unit prostate volume than white men. The cutoffs for PSA and prostate volume to response to LUTS therapy should be determined in this population.

stone was more common in patients injured when aged ≥ 24 years than in those injured when aged < 24 years (odds ratio 2.5; 95% confidence interval 1.1-5.7; P = 0.03). In another model, patients with complete injury had a greater risk of renal stone formation than those with incomplete injury (4.1, 1.3-12.9; P = 0.016). Renal stone was more common for patients with urethral catheterization than for those voiding spontaneously (5.7, 1.3-24.6, P = 0.021) and for patients with bladder stone than for those without (4.7, 1.5-15.1; P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONInjury characteristics are important for the development of urinary stone in chronic traumatic spinal cord injury. In addition, the present findings suggest that in men who cannot use intermittent catheterization or when the bladder cannot empty spontaneously, suprapubic cystostomy is better than urethral catheterization to avoid renal stone formation. KEYWORDSspinal cord injury, urinary catheterization, stone, neurogenic bladder OBJECTIVETo establish hazard ratios for risk of urinary stone formation in men with chronic spinal cord injury. PATIENTS AND METHODSIn all, 140 men injured before 1987 were eligible for this investigation and were followed yearly from January 1987 and December 2003. RESULTSOver the 17 years, 39 patients (28%) and 21 (15%) were diagnosed with bladder and renal stones for a total of 59 and 25 episodes, respectively. In multivariate analysis, bladder