Adjustable suburethral sling (male remeex system) in the treatment of male stress urinary incontinence: a multicentric European study

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of a readjustable sling for the treatment of male stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between October 2002 and August 2005, 51 male patients with mild to severe SUI were prospectively operated with the use of a readjustable sling (MRS) at seven different European hospitals: Spain (2), Italy (2), Greece (1), Germany (1), and Portugal (1). The origin of incontinence was radical prostatectomy in 43 cases, TUR in 4, and open prostatectomy in another 4. Duration of incontinence ranged from 1 to 10 yr with an average of 3.5 yr.

RESULTS

All patients but 5 were regulated during the early postoperative period; 44 patients (including all 5 not regulated during the early period) required a second regulation under local anaesthesia between 1 to 4 mo after surgery, and 17 other patients required more than one delayed regulation. After that, 33 patients (64.7%) were considered cured (25 of them wore no pads at all, and 8 used small pads or sanitary napkins for security but normally remained dry); another 10 cases showed important improvement (19.6%); and only 8 patients remain unchanged (15.7%). The average follow-up time was 32 mo (range: 16-50). The mesh was removed in 1 case owing to urethral erosion and the varitensor in 2 cases owing to infection. There were five (9.8%) uneventful intraoperative bladder perforations at the postoperative period, and there were three mild perineal haematomas (5.9%). Most patients felt perineal discomfort or pain, which was easily treated with oral medications.

CONCLUSIONS

The MRS((R)) allowed postoperative readjustment of the suburethral sling pressure at the immediate or midterm postoperative period, which allowed the achievement of good midterm results in almost 85% of patients without significant postoperative complications.

Externally Readjustable Sling for Treatment of Male Stress Urinary Incontinence: Points of Technique and Preliminary Results

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Slings have been successful in the treatment of male stress urinary incontinence (SUI). However, in many situations, the sling may have either an excess of or inadequate tension, producing voiding difficulties or urinary leakage, respectively. The effectiveness of a readjustable sling for the treatment of male SUI has been evaluated.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between October 2001 and November 2002, six consecutive male patients with SUI, aged 69 to 81 years, received a readjustable sling (Remeex) at the Monforte Comarcal Hospital.

RESULTS

Five patients (83%) achieved continence, while the remaining patient showed important improvement. All patients were satisfied or very satisfied with the results. The average follow-up time was 18 months (range 12-50 months). There were no postoperative complications.

CONCLUSIONS

This original treatment allows readjustment of the sling tension in the immediate or mid-term postoperative period. Initial clinical results are encouraging.

Long-Term Experience with Hyperthermic Chemotherapy (HIVEC) Using Mitomycin-C in Patients with Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer in Spain

(1) Background: Intravesical mitomycin-C (MMC) combined with hyperthermia is increasingly used in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), especially in the context of a relative BCG shortage. We aim to determine real-world data on the long-term treatment outcomes of adjunct hyperthermic intravesical chemotherapy (HIVEC) with MMC and a COMBAT® bladder recirculation system (BRS); (2) Methods: A prospective observational trial was performed on patients with NMIBC treated with HIVEC using BRS in nine academic institutions in Spain between 2012–2020 (HIVEC-E). Treatment effectiveness (recurrence, progression and overall mortality) was evaluated in patients treated with HIVEC MMC 40mg in the adjuvant setting, with baseline data and a clinical follow-up, that comprise the Full Analysis Set (FAS). Safety, according to the number and severity of adverse effects (AEs), was evaluated in the safety (SAF) population, composed by patients with at least one adjunct HIVEC MMC instillation; (3) Results: The FAS population (n = 502) received a median number of 8.78 ± 3.28 (range 1–20) HIVEC MMC instillations. The median follow-up duration was 24.5 ± 16.5 (range 1–81) months. Its distribution, based on EAU risk stratification, was 297 (59.2%) for intermediate and 205 (40.8%) for high-risk. The figures for five-year recurrence-free and progression-free survival were 50.37% (53.3% for intermediate and 47.14% for high-risk) and 89.83% (94.02% for intermediate and 84.23% for high-risk), respectively. A multivariate analysis identified recurrent tumors (HR 1.83), the duration of adjuvant HIVEC therapy <4 months (HR 1.72) and that high-risk group (HR 1.47) were at an increased risk of recurrence. Independent factors of progression were high-risk (HR 3.89), recurrent tumors (HR 3.32) and the induction of HIVEC therapy without maintenance (HR 2.37). The overall survival was determined by patient age at diagnosis (HR 3.36) and the treatment duration (HR 1.82). The SAF population (n = 592) revealed 406 (68.58%) patients without AEs and 186 (31.42%) with at least one AE: 170 (28.72%) of grade 1–2 and 16 (2.7%) of grade 3–4. The most frequent AEs were dysuria (10%), pain (7.1%), urgency (5.7%), skin rash (4.9%), spasms (3.7%) and hematuria (3.6%); (4) Conclusions: HIVEC using BRS is efficacious and well tolerated. A longer treatment duration, its use in naïve patients and the intermediate-risk disease are independent determinants of success. Furthermore, a monthly maintenance of adjunct MMC HIVEC diminishes the progression rate of NMIBC.

Rapid Communication: Externally Readjustable Device to Regulate Sling Tension in Stress Urinary Incontinence: Preliminary Results

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Slings, especially those called "tension free," have low complication rates and good long-term success rates. However, they still have problems with either an excess or a lack of tension, which produces voiding difficulties or urinary leakage persistence, respectively. The effectiveness of a new adjustable sling for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) has been evaluated.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between November 1999 and May 2002, 113 consecutive patients were operated for SUI by means of a new adjustable sling. The results were analyzed retrospectively. The average follow-up time was 22 months (range 6-36 months).

RESULTS

Objective success was achieved in 108 of 113 patients (95.5%), but subjectively, only 90.3% of the patients were completely satisfied with the procedure because of persistent urge incontinence in 6 cases (5.3%). Morbidity was minimal.

CONCLUSIONS

This new minimally invasive treatment allows readjustment of sling tension at the immediate or mid-term postoperative period. It is applicable to primary and recurrent SUI and has shown encouraging results.

Malignant metastatic perirenal schwannoma

Only seven cases of malignant renal or perirenal schwannomas have previously been reported in the literature. Herein we report the case of a 74-year-old female with a previous history of malignant subcutaneous schwannoma and breast ductal adenocarcinoma who presented with a renal mass that was preoperatively diagnosed as a metastatic schwannoma. This is the first case of malignant perirenal schwannoma of metastatic origin.

"Sandwich technique" for suburethral placement of Mersilene mesh sling during pubovaginal suspension surgery: preliminary results

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness of a new "sandwich technique" for heterologous sling placement during pubovaginal suspension for treatment of recurrent stress urinary incontinence.

METHODS

A new sling placement procedure was used in 31 women (mean age 65.4 years) who had undergone multiple operations. With this technique, a heterologous sling was placed without dissection over a de-epithelialized vaginal wall and later covered with a vaginal wall flap. Finally, the sling and the bladder neck were suspended from the pubic bone with metallic anchorages and nonabsorbable sutures.

RESULTS

The objective success rates for SUI resolution was 87.1% but, subjectively, 90.3% of patients were satisfied or very satisfied with the procedure. The median follow-up time was 34 months. Morbidity was minimal, and the mean hospitalization time was less than 5 days.

CONCLUSIONS

This original, simple, noninvasive treatment is applicable to all type II and type III SUI with or without associated cystoceles, regardless of patient age or sexual activity, and has shown encouraging results. This procedure is highly recommended for the treatment of SUI, especially in patients who have undergone multiple previous operations.

A Multicenter Study of 2-year Outcomes Following Hyperthermia Therapy with Mitomycin C in Treating Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: HIVEC-E

INTRODUCTION

High grade, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is usually treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin. Chemohyperthermia therapy (CHT) may be a novel alternative therapy for the treatment of NMIBC.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the recurrence-free survival (RFS) of patients treated with CHT using the Combat bladder recirculation system (BRS) for NMIBC.

METHODS

This was a prospective multi-institutional study of 1,028 consecutive patients with NMIBC undergoing CHT between 2012 and 2020. A total of 835 patients were treated with CHT with Mitomycin C (MMC). Disease was confirmed on transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) prior to starting CHT. Follow-up included cystoscopy and subsequent TURBT if recurrence/progression was suspected. The primary endpoint was RFS. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse events from CHT.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

Median follow up was 22.4 months (Interquartile range (IQR): 12.8 -35.8). Median age was 70.4 years (IQR: 62.1 -78.6). A total of 557 (66.7%), 172 (20.6) and 74 (8.9%) of patients were classified to BCG naïve, BCG unresponsive and BCG failure, respectively. The RFS at 12 months and 24 months for BCG naïve was 87.6% (95% CI 85.0% - 90.4%) and 75.0% (95% CI 71.3% - 78.8%), respectively. The RFS at 12 months and 24 months for BCG unresponsive cohort was 78.1% (95% CI 72.0% - 84.7%) and 57.4% (95% CI 49.7% - 66.3%), respectively. The RFS at 24 months for the BCG unresponsive cohort for CIS with/without papillary disease and papillary only disease were 43.6% (95% CI 31.4% -60.4%) and 64.5% (95% CI 55.4% - 75.1%), respectively. Minor adverse events occurred in 216 (25.6%) patients and severe events occurred in 17 (2.0%) patients.

CONCLUSIONS

CHT with MMC using the Combat BRS is effective in the medium term and has a favorable adverse event profile.

Recirculating chemohyperthermia as a treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: Current and future perspectives

About 75% of all bladder cancer diagnosed are non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), recurring over 50% of them after transurethral resection of the bladder tumor. In order to prevent recurrences, adjuvant intravesical chemotherapy with mitomycin C and immunotherapy with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is traditionally used. Unfortunately, many patients relapse after receiving these treatments and a significant proportion of them require surgery. After a one-to-three years BCG maintenance, the risk for progression at 5 years was 19.3% for T1G3 tumors. Many new treatment approaches are being investigated to increase the effectiveness of adjuvant intravesical therapy. One of the developing treatments for intermediate and high-risk NMIBC is the combination of intravesical chemotherapy and hyperthermia, called chemohyperthermia. This article provides a review of the mechanism of action, current status and indications, results and future perspectives.