Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Fall.
We studied 41 patients with chronic interstitial cystitis. Histological examination of bladder lesions revealed mucosal ulceration, pancystitis and perineural inflammatory infiltrates. Perineural cell infiltration is related probably to the characteristic symptoms of the disease. A search for a viral etiology, particularly herpes simplex virus, rendered negative results.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation was used in a prospective series of 23 patients with classical interstitial cystitis. This treatment reduced pain in 18 patients and urinary frequency returned to normal in 8. Four women with a history of cystitis for 1 or 2 decades had no symptoms during transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for 7 or more years and lesions disappeared or were hardly detectable. A 2 to 3-fold increase in bladder capacity with anesthesia also was registered. Complete transurethral resection of visible lesions in 30 patients resulted in initial disappearance of pain in all and a decrease in urinary frequency in 21. The mode of action of the 2 methods and registered complications are discussed.
The urodynamic consequences of renal autotransplantation and pyelocystostomy were studied in 17 male and 3 female patients. The indications of the procedure were urothelial tumor of the upper urinary tract, remaining outflow obstruction after conventional pyeloplasty and recurrent stones. The mean observation time was 31 months (range 3-50 months). The micturition flow rate was unchanged. There was an insignificant increase in residual urine. No evidence of any clinically significant disturbance of the sensory or motor bladder innervation or reduction of the functional bladder capacity was found. Urethrocystography showed transient dilatation of calyces at micturition. Urinary tract infections, when present, had the same pattern as preoperatively. Thus, autotransplantation of the kidney with a wide, direct pyelocystostomy is consistent with essentially normal urodynamics of the transplanted renal pelvis and the bladder.
Cortical evoked potentials following stimulation of the lower urinary tract have been recorded in humans. Of 26 patients investigated 9 had no urinary signs or symptoms except genuine stress incontinence, while the remaining 17 had various neurogenic bladder disorders. Monopolar and bipolar stimulation of the bladder and urethra was performed using conventional and newly designed suction-type electrodes. While no cortical evoked potentials could be obtained from patients with complete transverse spinal cord lesions polyphasic cortical evoked potentials (N45, P60, N80 and P100 msec.) were recorded in response to monopolar bladder stimulation in all patients with stress incontinence. Following bipolar stimulation a response with lower amplitude and with latencies slightly divergent could be recorded. This response is assumed to be evoked only from bladder afferent nerves, while the monopolar response could include activity from adjacent structures. The most consistent pattern was recorded at the Cz site. Cortical evoked potentials following stimulation of the urethra were more difficult to evoke but they resembled those obtained after bipolar stimulation of the bladder. The method, when fully developed, may be helpful in the clinical investigation of patients affected by various neurogenic disorders of the lower urinary tract. So far, in our limited series a delayed response at P2 has been observed in patients with uninhibited neurogenic bladders.
A followup study is presented of a prospective series of women treated with an inflatable intravaginal electrode carrier and an external pulse generator. The devices were individually adjustable with respect to electrode positioning and stimulation parameters. The study included 40 women with detrusor instability and/or genuine stress incontinence. The primary results for urge symptoms were favorable. Of the patients 73 per cent were primarily free of symptoms during treatment and 45 per cent remained free of symptoms after withdrawal of treatment, including two-thirds in whom re-education persisted during the followup of 6 years. Of the patients with genuine stress incontinence 40 per cent exhibited persistent re-education. There were considerable discrepancies between symptomatic cure or improvement, and the urodynamic findings at followup. Intravaginal electrical stimulation may be regarded as the treatment of choice for urge incontinence due to detrusor instability, and in mixed stress and urge incontinence. The method also is an alternative to an operation in some women with genuine stress incontinence.
Nashold et al. (1972) have developed a surgically implantable system for activating the micturition reflex in the paraplegic by electrical stimulation of the spinal cord at the conus level. This communication describes the long-term course in a paraplegic patient who has used conus stimulation to achieve bladder emptying for 7 years. A 42-year-old man sustained a complete transverse lesion at the C6 level. Ten months after the accident he developed some spasticity in his legs but his urinary bladder remained completely flaccid. A device for electrical stimulation of the conus was implanted. This enabled the patient to empty his bladder without significant residual urine. His bladder remained flaccid. Seven years after the implant he developed reflex micturition and he is no longer dependent upon electrical stimulation.
Efferent nerve activity was recorded from pelvic nerve filaments to the urinary bladder of the cat. At intravesical pressures below 5-7 cm H2O there was no activity, but at higher pressure levels the parasympathetic neurones discharged in 10- to 15-second-long rhythmic bursts separated by silent periods. The frequency of the burst varied from about 1/min at 5 cm H2O to 6-7/min at 15-20 cm H2O. Each burst of activity was followed by a small bladder contraction. The nervous activity preceded the contraction by several seconds, indicating that the bladder response was caused by the efferent discharge. Prolonged continuous efferent activity could occur immediately after pressure changes, at pressures above 20-25 cm H2O or after inhibition caused by intravaginal stimulation. In these situations, rhythmic activity resumed as inhibition of the tonic discharge. This behaviour indicates that the rhythmicity is primarily determined by a central inhibitory mechanism. The findings are discussed in relation to the normal function of the neuronal feedback systems of the bladder and their possible role in the development of the clinical condition 'unstable bladder'.
In a follow-up study the accuracy of a simple preoperative screening including history, Bonney 's test and supine cystometry was evaluated in patients with stress urinary incontinence. Based upon preoperative history alone, the patients were divided into two different groups, pure stress incontinence, and mixed stress and urge incontinence. All patients accepted had a normal supine cystometry at the preoperative work-up. The results of the operation were good in pure stress incontinence. In patients with mixed stress and urge incontinence the results were unsatisfactory and most of them presented a variety of urodynamic abnormalities postoperatively. Thus, in patients with pure stress incontinence, acceptance for surgery may be based upon a careful history, a simple supine cystometry and Bonney 's test, but in patients with mixed stress and urge incontinence a comprehensive clinical and urodynamic evaluation is mandatory. It seems that combination of detrusor instability and a history of pronounced urgency preoperatively calls for other therapeutic alternatives than operation.
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Intravaginal electrical stimulation (IVS) induces a profound bladder inhibition and is successful in the treatment of incontinence due to detrusor instability. In this experimental study in cats, direct recordings of the efferent activity in thin hypogastric and pelvic nerve filaments to the bladder were used to analyze the neuronal mechanisms underlying this bladder inhibition. A longlasting reflex discharge, with a latency of 35 to 50 msec., was evoked in the hypogastric nerve by IVS. The reflex discharge was unaffected by imposed changes in intravesical pressure or by micturition contractions, but the response was very frequency-sensitive with an optimal transmission at about 5 Hz of stimulation. A "spontaneous" efferent activity could be recorded in the pelvic nerve filaments when the bladder pressure was elevated above 5 to 7 cm. H2O. The pelvic activity occurred in 10 to 20-second bursts, each followed by an abortive detrusor contraction. IVS of 5 to 10 Hz completely abolished this efferent pelvic activity by central inhibition. The findings are discussed in relation to the normal neuronal control of the bladder and to the clinical application of IVS.
Forty-one women were operated on for stress incontinence using the simplified Lapides' operation. Twenty-six had pure stress incontinence and fifteen had mixed stress and urge incontinence. Follow-up studies, 2-6 years after surgery, included interviews according to a special protocol and urodynamic analyses. The cure rate was high in the patients with pure stress incontinence (all cured or improved), while the results were not satisfactory in the patients with mixed stress and urge incontinence (7 of 15 cured or improved). A variety of urodynamic abnormalities were found in the group of failures. In some patients who considered themselves cured or improved there was a discrepancy between the result of the interview and the urodynamic findings. The technical advantages and disadvantages of the simplified Lapides' operation are discussed.
Reconstruction of the duct system using microsurgical technique represents an anatomically more attractive approach to correction of occlusive azoospermia than the conventional sperm fistula operations. The microsurgical technique of Silber entails transection of the entire epididymis in progressively more cranial planes. After microsurgical dissections of testicle specimens, we developed a different technique: dissection of a single loop of the ductus epididymis and connection to the ductus deferens, performed either as a two-layer end-to-end or as an end-to-side anastomosis. To reveal patency of each single anastomosis, the operations were performed unilaterally. Twenty-eight men were operated upon. They were referred from urology departments after standard investigations including repeated sperm tests. In 7 patients (25%) the prerequisites for an anastomosis were not present. Twelve patients were primarily operated upon with the end-to-end technique. Six of them have produced sperms in their specimens. Nine patients were operated upon with the end-to-side anastomosis. So far, five of these have presented positive sperm tests but the follow-up period is relatively short in this part of the series. During the investigation, it became evident that both the identification of sperms or fragments in the epididymal fluid and an adequate flow are prerequisites for successful surgery.
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Techniques are described for recording evoked potentials in humans in response to stimulation of the urinary bladder. Twenty patients with various disorders of their urinary function were investigated. Evoked cortical potentials following stimulation of the urinary bladder could be recorded from all patients except subjects with complete transverse spinal cord lesions. The response was most evident at the central site (Cz) and had its most prominent peaks at 45, 65, 82 and 102 msec. This technique may become a useful diagnostic tool in the study of neurogenic bladder dysfunctions.
We analyzed the functional results of urinary diversion in 21 patients who had a funneled ureteroileal anastomosis to avoid stricture and stenosis. No attempt was made to avoid reflux from the conduit to the ureter but special care was taken to construct a cutaneous stoma to prevent reflux from the appliance. The results of the procedure were satisfactory. No urinary leakage, or stricture of the ureters or ureteroileal anastomosis was observed in any patient and kidney function was preserved. One of the main advantages of this technique is simplicity in construction, which means increased safety when used by surgeons not extensively trained in urinary diversion operations.
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