The urachus is a fibrous cord that arises from the anterior bladder wall and extends cranially to the umbilicus. Traditionally, infection has been treated using a two-stage procedure that includes an initial incision and drainage which is then followed by elective excision. More recently, it has been suggested that a single-stage excision with improved antibiotics is a safe option. Thus, we intended to compare the effects of the two-stage procedure and the single-stage excision. We performed a retrospective review on nine patients treated between May 1990 and September 2005. The methods used in diagnosis were ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and cystoscopy. The study group was comprised of three males and six females with a mean age of 28.2 years (with a range from three to 71 years). Symptoms consisted of abdominal pain, abdominal mass, fever, and dysuria. The primary incision and drainage followed by a urachal remnant excision with a bladder cuff excision (two-stage procedure) was performed in four patients. The mean postoperative hospitalization lasted 5.8 days (with a range of three to seven days), and there were no reported complications. A primary excision of the infected urachal cyst and bladder cuff (single-stage excision) was performed in the other five patients. These patients had a mean postoperative hospitalization time of 9.2 days (with a range of four to 15 days), and complications included an enterocutaneous fistula, which required additional operative treatment. The best method of treating an infected urachal cyst remains a matter of debate. However, based on our results, the two-stage procedure is associated with a shorter hospital stay and no complications. Thus, when infection is extensive and severe, we suggest that the two-stage procedure offers a more effective treatment option.

Abstract-We describe a spatially adaptive algorithm for image interpolation. The algorithm uses a wavelet transform to extract information about sharp variations in the low-resolution image and then implicitly applies interpolation which adapts to the image local smoothness/singularity characteristics. The proposed algorithm yields images that are sharper compared to several other methods that we have considered in this paper. Better performance comes at the expense of higher complexity.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of transrectal ultrasonographically guided needle aspiration in the treatment of prostatic abscess. Fourteen patients with prostatic abscess were evaluated with this technique and treated with sonographically guided needle aspiration. Using this technique, all cases (100%) had one or more hypoechoic areas within the prostate that contained inhomogeneous materials; in 10 patients (71.0%), the lesion showed internal septa or solid portion. The margins of the hypoechoic area were well defined and thick in 11 patients (79.0%) and poorly defined in 3 patients (21.0%). The estimated volume of the prostatic abscess ranged between 2 and 28 ml (mean, 12.0 ml). The presence of a pus collection within the prostate was confirmed by transrectal ultrasonographically guided aspiration in all patients. However, successful treatment of prostatic abscess with transrectal needle aspiration was done in 12 (86.0%) of 14 patients; the treatment failed in 2 (14.0%) of 14 patients. One patient was treated with perineal incision and drainage and the other with transurethral resection. The amount of pus drained ranged between 1 and 39 ml (mean, 12.0 ml). On follow-up transrectal ultrasonographic examination, no remaining abscess pocket was found within the prostate in any of the cases. One year later, the prostatic abscess recurred in one case. In conclusion, transrectal ultrasonographic guidance is useful in the diagnosis of prostatic abscess as well as in the guidance for aspiration and the drainage of such abscesses. Transrectal ultrasonographically guided needle aspiration could be an effective method for treating prostatic abscess.

One problem of image interpolation refers to magnifying a small image without loss in image clarity. We propose a wavelet based method which estimates the higher resolution information needed to sharpen the image. This method extrapolates the wavelet transform of the higher resolution based on the evolution of the wavelet transform extrema across the scales. By identifying three constraints that the higher resolution information needs to obey, we enhance the reconstructed image through alternating projections onto the sets defined by these constraints.

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