Letter from the Editor - April 2012

Dear Colleagues,

The year is off to a wonderfully productive start for UroToday International Journal, and the inflow of interesting contributions is steadily increasing. We all look ahead to the upcoming 2012 AUA Annual Meeting in May with anticipation and excitement. Many of the topics generated from the meeting will inevitably fill our pages as the year progresses, and the changes and influences these presentations produce will be nothing less than inspirational and worthwhile for our readers.

There are also many new upcoming developments with the UIJ, and we look forward to growing and expanding with our current readership and the new bibliophiles and researchers we gather along the way.

In this issue, Abraham et al. demonstrate laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy experience in donors with multiple arteries and then compare the results with single artery donors on a case-matched basis, finding no significant difference in operative complications.

In an effort to promote transrectal sectional sonography as a more reliable method, Elwagdy et al. assess the effectiveness of TSS in the diagnosis and treatment of prostatic abscesses, eventually demonstrating successful transperineal needle aspiration in all cases.

Falahatkar et al. determine whether body mass index can influence the outcomes of percutaneous nephrolithotripsy in the prone and the supine position, demonstrating that both positions in obese and morbidly obese patients were safe and effective.

The first report of its kind, Kuykendall et al. evaluate a xenographic urethral replacement model utilizing porcine-derived, decellularized blood vessel matrices in rabbits. Their article suggests further investigation of a potentially off-the-shelf product for single-stage urethral reconstruction without stem cell technology.

Satâa et al. compare the clinicopathological characteristics and the prognosis of bladder transitional cell carcinoma according to age in young adults and the results this study yields, including tumor size and location, recurrence, and survival rates among the young.

Westermann et al. assess whether the concomitant use of a tension-free sling with minimally invasive sacrocolpopexy for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse decreases postoperative stress urinary incontinence in women with and without preoperative symptoms of stress incontinence. They determine that a full or mini-sling significantly reduced postoperative symptoms.

Finally, in a review by Klaassen et al., resection of cancer metastasis to the brain is questioned, suggesting the indications for surgical resection in the nonemergent setting are less clear. Through their labor, they conclude that surgical therapy is reserved for patients with a good Karnofsky Performance Status, minimal-to-no systemic disease, solitary large lesions, and those with a life expectancy of more than 3 months.

We also present a series of case studies that include various topics, including Puigvert disease, pleomorphic sarcoma of the scrotum, and isolated renal hydatid cysts.

I hope the upcoming issue proves constructive and fruitful for our entire urologic community, no matter your purpose or focus, and thank you for your continued support as we forge ahead.

Kind regards,

Karl-Erik Andersson