Various types of foreign bodies have been recovered from the urinary bladder and urethra including telephone cables, pocket battery, little fish, pen tips and so on. Management of such cases include either endoscopic removal or open surgery. We report the case of an 18-year-old boy who inserted an electric wire in the urethra for eroticism and was managed by endoscopic removal following fragmentation of wire under local anaesthesia using holmium laser.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Three dimensional(3D) printing helps to build solid objects directly from a digital file. Its applications have expanded considerably over the last 20 years and have found use in various fields. This study is our initial attempt to investigate the feasibility, design and fabrication process of a usable 3D printed ring retractor system.METHODS: Using a low cost, desktop, fused deposition manufacturing (FDM) printer, Turner Warwick surgical retractor system was replicated from polylactic acid (PLA) filament. The retractor was sterilized using glutaraldehyde, and tested in-vitro for strength. The final printed products were evaluated by practicing urologists for ergonomic functionality and performance.RESULTS: The design process was completed in 3 days and the printing required roughly 6 hours. Initially printed instruments were found to give way at the hook of the blades. After appropriate modification the instruments were re-printed. All the five urologists found no inferiority in the functionality and performance of this retractor system compared to commercial stainless steel instrument.CONCLUSIONS: We found the process of in-situ making of functional 3D printed surgical instruments easy and feasible. Advantages include reduced cost, fast-tracked design to production times and surgeon specific modifications. The 3D printed retractor is strong enough for the demands of the operating room. Due to the unprecedented accessibility of 3D printing technology worldwide, and the cost efficiency of these instruments, there are far reaching implications for surgery in some underserved and less developed parts of the world.
Haematuria in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a very common manifestation. The cause of haematuria is often benign with the most common cause being haemorrhage within the renal cyst. But haematuria may also be caused by a coincident malignancy, the diagnosis of which may be missed if not investigated thoroughly. Herein, we present a case of ADPKD who presented to us with haematuria and was later found to have bladder cancer.
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