Genital elephantiasis in men

Penoscrotal elephantiasis (PSE) is defined as an increase, sometimes considerable, in the volume of the external genitalia, which will be responsible for an unsightly appearance, a sexological impact and a psychological harm. The cause may be primary or secondary to a parasitic disease (filarsiosis) or to intrinsic or extrinsic lymphatic obstruction. The diagnosis is essentially clinical, with penoscrotal involvement being the most frequent. The etiological research implies the realization of certain complementary examinations according to the circumstances. Surgical treatment ideally consists of excising the mass. followed by reconstruction using grafts or local flaps of healthy skin, which is an important way of restoring comfort to the patient. We report two cases of penoscrotal elephantiasis treated surgically with good functional and aesthetic results. We update, through our own experience, aspects of the diagnostic and therapeutic care of penoscrotal elephantiasis.

[Palpebral marginoplasty in the management of distichiasis: About 104 eyes]

Distichiasis is an anomaly of the of the eyelid margin characterized by the presence of a second row of eyelashes arising from the posterior lamella. It is a rare condition whose severity is related to corneal complications. There are two forms: congenital and acquired, the latter of which is the most frequent in our population, resulting mainly from chronic inflammation. There are several treatment modalities, the choice of which is up to the practitioner depending on the means at his or her disposal and the risk-benefit ratio. We report a series of 104 eyes (90 patients) undergoing surgery for distichiasis using the marginoplasty technique with labial mucosal autograft, collected between January 2000 and September 2021. The main indication was any distichiasis with more than seven lashes per eyelid. The mean age of the patients was 65.5 years. With a mean follow-up of over 24 months, a reduction in functional signs was noted in over 95% of cases. The success rate after marginoplasty with labial mucosal autograft alone was 82.7%. The recurrence rate was 17.3%, which patients underwent additional treatment by argon laser photoablation with very good final results (96% final success rate). Marginoplasty with labial mucosal autograft represents a technique of choice in distichiasis threatening the cornea, particularly in cases of distichiasis with a significant number of eyelashes to be treated.

[Does ethics of donation apply equally to all elements of the human body?]

The therapeutic use of elements and products of the human body has always raised serious questions about the balance to be respected between a duty to protect donors and a compelling therapeutic purpose for a patient. Our body is part of a relationship of otherness, since it embodies the person, a relationship that is sometimes therapeutic, for oneself or for others. As an object of gift, the body requires protection. However, if ethics of donation is based on common axiological and protective elements, the field of donation of human body parts is vast and evolving. Each type of donation has its own specificity and its own references, which requires pragmatism, collective reflection, in which everybody should be able to participate in an informed manner.

[French Urological Association (AFU) guidelines for Peyronie's disease assessment and treatment]

INTRODUCTION

Peyronie's disease is a common cause for consultation in urology. Many controversies surround its treatment. No French Guidelines have been published so far. The Committee of Andrology and Sexual Medicine of the French Association of Urology therefore offers a series of evidence-based recommendations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

These recommendations are made according to the ADAPTE method, based on European (EAU, ESSM), American (AUA, ISSM) and Canadian (CAU) recommendations, integrating French specificities due to the availability of treatments, and an update of the recent bibliography.

RESULTS

The assessment of the disease is clinical. Patients with functional impairment or significant psychological repercussions may be offered treatment. The benefits and drawbacks of each treatment should be explained to the patient. Regarding non-surgical treatments, no available treatment has market authorization in France. Vitamin E is not recommended. Analgesic (oral or low-intensity shock waves) or proerectile treatments may be offered as needed, as well as traction therapy. Due to the unavailability of collagenase injections, verapamil injections may be offered. Surgical treatments are to be considered in the stabilized phase of the disease, and consist of performing a plication, an incision-graft or the placement of a penile implant according to the patient's wishes, the curvature and the penis size, as well as erectile function. Combination treatments can be offered.

CONCLUSION

The management of Peyronie's disease is complex, and the levels of evidence for treatments are generally low. The success of treatment will depend on the quality of the initial assessment, the patient's information and understanding of the expected effects, and the practitioner's experience.

Coverage of soft tissue defects in acute surgery for deep burns of the limbs

Burns of the limbs affect 48.6% of burn patients. Injury mechanisms condition their depth and degree of extension. Injury of the hands and/or the joint areas entails considerable risk of retraction. Coverage is consequently doubly challenging, it is a matter not only of compensating for a soft tissue defects, but also of striving to prevent early (infectious) and late (amplitude limitation, pain, loss of function…) complications. Thoroughgoing assessment of the initial injury and associated lesions is conducive to rapid determination of a therapeutic strategy tailored to the relevant functional issues and subsequent rehabilitation. Following a summary of the epidemiological elements and the medical context of management, a review of existing treatments has been drawn up based on the data in the literature and current professional recommendations. Emergency procedures, the different types of excision and the possibilities of autologous covering and skin substitutes are reported. Last but not least, routinely validated indications are synthesized.

[Radiotherapy and immune suppression: A short review]

The management of patients undergoing immunosuppressive agents is really challenging. Based on precaution principle, it seems mandatory to stop immunosuppressive (or immunomodulating) agents during radiation. Yet, it is impossible in grafted patients. It is possible in patients with autoimmune disease, but in this case, the autoimmune disease might modify patient's radio-sensitivity. We provide a short review about the safety of radiotherapy in grafted/auto-immune patients. The literature is limited with data coming from outdated case-report or case-control studies. It seems that radiotherapy is feasible in grafted patients, but special dose-constraints limitations must probably be considered for the transplant and the other organs at risk. There is very little data about the safety of radiotherapy, when associated with immunomodulating agents. The most studied drug is the methotrexate but only its prescription as a chemotherapy (high doses for a short period of time) was reported. When used as an immunomodulator, it should probably be stopped 4 months before and after radiation. Apart from rheumatoid arthritis, it seems that collagen vascular diseases and especially systemic scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematous feature increased radio-sensitivity with increased severe late toxicities. Transplanted patients and collagen vascular disease patients should be informed that there is very little data about safety of radiation in their case.

[Use of blinatumomab in children acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the Grand Ouest interregion: A chance for all]

INTRODUCTION

Relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children has a pejorative prognosis and justifies to be treated by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A minimal residual disease (MRD) before transplantation is a major part of prognosis. Blinatumomab, a bispecific antibody CD19⁺/CD3⁺, allowed to achieve a cytologic and molecular complete remission in adults with refractory B-precursor ALL. This retrospective study analyses results from a pediatric cohort treated by blinatumomab thanks to an interregional structuring consortium.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients between 0 and 23 years old, from the 7 centers of the french "Grand Ouest" interregional network, treated by blinatumomab for a relapsed or refractory ALL, from January 2015 to January 2018, were included. The efficiency of blinatumomab was assessed in terms of complete remission, minimal residual disease, overall survival, and tolerability of treatment.

RESULTS

Thirteen of 18 patients achieved a complete remission, with negative minimal residual disease for ten of them. Fourteen patients proceeded to stem cell transplantation,. Eight out of 14 patients obtained long term remission after HSCT. As far as tolerance is concerned, no serious adverse event, neurological or psychiatric disorder, was observed.

CONCLUSION

Thanks to an interregional network collaboration, all children with high risk ALL coming from the western french interregion could be treated by blinatumomab. Blinatumomab offered good hematological conditions to undergo HSCT with a good tolerability.

The mucous cyst, a rare and delayed complication after rhinoplasty

INTRODUCTION

Rhinoplasty is frequently performed worldwide, and patients and surgeons both expect good cosmetic results without any deformity recurrence. We report a rare case of mucous cyst occurred after post-traumatic rhinoseptoplasty.

OBSERVATION

A 27-year old woman presented a median mass of the nose root 7 years after prior rhinoseptoplasty. Investigations showed a subcutaneous lesion of 10.5×24.5mm. The surgery consisted on an external rhinoplasty allowing cyst removal, bilateral osteotomies and reconstruction of the nasal dorsum by deep temporal fascia graft. Histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of begnin mucous cyst. No recurrence was observed at 1-year follow-up.

DISCUSSION

Mucous cyst post rhinoplasty is rare and is probably due to accidental mucosal material implantation into the subcutaneous plane during rhinoplasty. This complication can be avoided by adequate infiltration and hydrodissection, careful dissection, and avoidance of unnecessary trauma during osteotomies.

[Recommendations for the organ donation from patients with brain or medullary primitive tumors on behalf of the Association of the Neuro-oncologists of French Expression (ANOCEF) and the Club of Neuro-oncology of the French Society of Neurosurgery]

Requests of organs to be transplanted increase. As a matter of urgency, it is not always easy to decide if a patient carrier of a brain tumor can be candidate in the donation. After a review of the literature, the members of the Association of the Neuro-oncologists of French Expression (ANOCEF) and the Club of Neuro-oncology of the French Society of Neurosurgery propose consensual recommendations in case of donor carrier of primitive tumor intra-cranial or intra-medullary. A contact with the neuro-oncologist/neurosurgeon will allow to discuss the indication in case of glioma of grade I/II/III, according to the grade, the current status (absence of progressive disease), the number of surgeries and of lines of treatment. The taking is disadvised in case of glioma of grade IV (glioblastoma), of lymphoma or meningioma of grade III. No contraindication for the meningiomas of grade I, and individual discussion for the meningiomas of grade II. It is advisable to remain careful in case of hemangiopericytoma and of meningeal solitary fibrous tumor. The patients in first complete remission of a medulloblastoma or intra-cranial primitive germinoma seem good candidates for the taking of organ if the follow-up is of at least 10 years (3 years for non germinomas). In every case, a multidisciplinary discussion is desirable when it is materially possible.

[Analysis of success rates of uretroplasty for adult male bulbar urethral stricture: A systematic review]

Male urethral stricture disease is prevalent and has an important impact on quality of life. Direct visual urethrotomy and dilatations have high rates of recurrence.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this review of literature was to evaluate the success rates of different techniques of urethroplasty for strictures of the bulbar urethra.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review of the MEDLINE literature from 2004 to 2015 following the PRISMA's statement recommendations. Key words were: urethroplasty, urethral reconstruction, onlay, graft, urethral stricture. Inclusion criteria were original articles describing the results of urethroplasty for bulbar urethral stricture in an adult male population. A minimum follow-up of 24 months was required.

RESULTS

From 891 articles of the literature, 20 are studied in this review. Only 3 studies were prospective. The success rate of anastomotic urethroplasty varied from 68.7 to 98.8% for strictures from 1 to 3.5cm, from 60 to 96.9% for augmented urethroplasty performed for strictures from 4.2 to 4.7cm. Substitution urethroplasty with grafts presented from 75 to 89.8% of success for strictures from 2.6 and 4.36cm. Overall, 19/20 studies used buccal mucosal graft.

CONCLUSION

The success rate of urethroplasty for bulbar urethral stricture is high; the surgical technique should be adapted to the length of the stricture.

[Assessment and management of post-transplant iron overload: Guidelines of the Francophone Society of Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (SFGM-TC)]

To harmonize clinical practice in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the Francophone Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cell Therapy (SFGM-TC) set up the sixth annual series of workshops which brought together practitioners from all member centers and took place in September 2015 in Lille. The main aim of this session was to describe the impact, evaluation and treatment of post-transplant iron overload.

[Small airway diseases and immune deficiency]

INTRODUCTION

Innate or acquired immune deficiency may show respiratory manifestations, often characterized by small airway involvement. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of small airway disease across the major causes of immune deficiency.

BACKGROUND

In patients with common variable immune deficiency, recurrent lower airway infections may lead to bronchiolitis and bronchiectasis. Follicular and/or granulomatous bronchiolitis of unknown origin may also occur. Bronchiolitis obliterans is the leading cause of death after the first year in patients with lung transplantation. Bronchiolitis obliterans also occurs in patients with allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, especially in the context of systemic graft-versus-host disease.

VIEWPOINT AND CONCLUSION

Small airway diseases have different clinical expression and pathophysiology across various causes of immune deficiency. A better understanding of small airways disease pathogenesis in these settings may lead to the development of novel targeted therapies.

[Correction of the broad nasal tip]

AIM OF STUDY

The multiple techniques, the accurate examination and the checking of the various anatomic components (skin, cartilage resistance) could explain the difficulty for the surgeon to choose a main line, achieving the purpose of perfect and permanent results. Facing this complexity, the goal of this study is to plan step by step, using a simple and original technique in order to correct a broad nose.

METHODS

The modification of the nasal tip includes resection techniques, currently the most used, the cartilaginous reshaping with sutures or onlay grafts and more recently the reinforcement structures approach by inlay grafts. Basically, there are 3 important stages in the performing of a new nose tip: projection and rotation control of the tip, nasal base stability and reshaping of the tip. The author reports an original technique for the control of the tip projection and reshaping the middle crus with two cartilaginous grafts disposed on the external side of the medial crus. These two grafts permit both improving naturally the support of the tip and stabilizing the columella, avoiding the classical median columellar strut.

RESULTS

Through a ten-year experience with 203 cases, every patient result was analyzed and criticized. All the cases were reviewed after 2 years at least, and the unwanted effects were noted. Nineteen patients have had a secondary rhinoplasty (11%), 4 for a revision tip surgery (2%). There is no respiratory dysfunction and more than 90% of patients are satisfied for their aesthetic result. We think that the main problems as resection techniques with skin or mucosa retraction, unpredictable long-term effect on the tip, unknown future of the grafts, especially onlay grafts responsible sometimes for unpleasant irregularities, could be minimized with this procedure. The more the nasal tip is stabilized, the more the results are better and longer lasting.

CONCLUSION

The surgery of the nose tip is focused not only with shaping procedures of the middle or lateral crus. The technique reported is very simple and safety for the nasal tip surgery through a modification and/or a reinforcement of the initial structure, maximizing the contact between skin and anatomical component and economizing the interposition of a cartilage graft as far as possible. It is a new concept including respect of the anatomy, and stability, which are the best guarantee for a durable result.

[Full thickness reconstruction of the nasal pyramid]

Nasal lesions, which are often carcinomas, require a histological control of the excision sometimes forcing to postpone the reconstruction source of nasal mutilation disfiguring. Reconstructive procedures have made steady progress and the notion of reconstruction in three planes advocated by Tiersch has been improved in a major way by Millard, Burget and Menick, who added an essential aesthetic dimension. We present our experience in this field by selecting procedures that seem most appropriate and describing the key points of the operating process, which remain the guarantee of both therapeutic and aesthetic success.

[Eyebrow reconstruction]

The eyebrow is an essential anatomical area, from a social point of view, so its reconstruction, in case of skin defect, must be as meticulous as possible, with the less residual sequela. Capillary density extremely varies from one person to another and the different methods of restoration of this area should absolutely take this into consideration. We are going to review the various techniques of reconstruction, according to the sex and the surface to cover.