Background. Malignant melanoma is one of the rarest tumors of the female urethra. The prognosis of urethral melanoma is poor.
Methods. A 59‐year‐old woman underwent total urethrectomy, bilateral inguinal lymph node dissection, and vesicostomy for Stage A primary malignant melanoma of the urethra. She received adjuvant therapy consisting of dacarbazine, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and alpha‐interferon. Two years later, repair of the parastomal hernia and interposition of an isoperistaltically ileum intussusception between the bladder and the abdominal wall were done.
Results. Complete continence was achieved, and the patient catheterizes herself every 3–5 hours during the day and once at night without difficulty. She has survived 5 years without any evidence of tumor recurrence.
Conclusions. There have been only six case reports of women with primary malignant melanoma of the urethra surviving more than 5 years, including this case. Total urethrectomy with bilateral inguinal lymph node dissection should be done as the initial form of the treatment in patients with this disease who have no evidence of distant metastasis. The postoperative adjuvant therapy, consisting of alpha‐interferon and chemotherapy, should be administered immediately; therefore, vesicostomy was done because it is a simple procedure. However, this type of urinary diversion requires an external appliance. Clinicians should consider the patient's quality of life, prognosis, and general condition and attempt to solve the problems of patients 2–3 years after the operation.
We describe a patient on hemodialysis in whom a spontaneous renal subcapsular hematoma developed. The diagnosis was confirmed by computerized tomography and angiography, and the patient was treated conservatively. We recommend conservative management in such cases based on radiological findings that rule out underlying pathological changes.
An excised specimen from a 39-year-old man with idiopathic calcinosis of the scrotum was examined by electron microscopy. Mineral deposits were located in the dermis in which collagen fibers were numerous. These collagen fibers appeared mineralized to varying degrees. Mineral crystals frequently were present in the cytoplasm of fibroblasts near large deposits. The mineral portion was identified as a compound consisting of calcium and phosphorus, and the elementary mapping of calcium and phosphorus in the skin tissue was analyzed by an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer. No calcification was observed in dartos muscle cells or in mast cells.
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