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Biomedical subjects

T J Christmas

Publications and source records attributed to T J Christmas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Vascular interventions during post-chemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph-node dissection for metastatic testis cancer.

AIMS: Complete excision of nodal masses during post-chemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph-node dissection (RPLND) for metastatic non-seminomatous germ-cell tumours (NSGCT) of the testis often requires vascular surgical intervention. We report our experience of vascular interventions and complications in a large series of men undergoing postchemotherapy RPLND. METHODS: A retrospective review of vascular interventions during post-chemotherapy RPLND in 98 patients was undertaken (103 procedures). RESULTS: Macroscopic tumour clearance was complete in 95/98 men (97%). Vascular intervention was required in all cases. Major complications included acute tubular necrosis in one patient who had undergone left nephrectomy and extensive dissection around the right renal artery, progressive atrophy of the ipsilateral kidney in three men and a colonic stricture and associated colocutaneous fistula in one patient after division of the inferior mesenteric artery. Iliac and femoral venous thrombosis developed in both patients in whom the inferior vena cava (IVC) was excised and in one patient after partial IVC excision. Eight of the 98 patients have died. No late vascular complications have occurred to date. CONCLUSION: Complete tumour clearance can be achieved in most post-chemotherapy RPLNDs but invariably involves vascular intervention. Metastatic NSGCT should be treated by surgeons with the ability to undertake the vascular procedures required.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Excision of residual masses of metastatic germ cell tumours after chemotherapy: the role of extraperitoneal surgical approaches.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of extraperitoneal surgical approaches for the removal of residual masses of metastatic germ cell tumours in men after chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A series of 75 men (median age 32 years) with metastatic germ cell tumours of testicular (n = 63) or extragonadal (n = 12) origin, who had been treated with an intensive course of platinum-based chemotherapy, were found to have residual tumour masses. Extraperitoneal surgical approaches were used on 80 occasions to excise these masses. A thoraco-abdominal extraperitoneal approach (n = 71) was used for large masses and those with intrathoracic metastases while smaller retroperitoneal masses were removed through 12th rib (n = 5) or Rutherford-Morrison (n = 4) extraperitoneal approaches. RESULTS: Complete macroscopic clearance of residual masses within the thorax and retroperitoneum was achieved in all cases. The median blood loss was 0.8 L and the median in-patient stay was 7 days. Complications included chest infection in four cases. Two patients died about 4 weeks after surgery, one from septic pericarditis and another after an epileptic fit secondary to brain metastases. Eleven patients have developed tumour recurrence, five of whom have died from disseminated disease. Hence the survival rate and disease-free survival rate are 91% and 83%, respectively, with a median follow-up of 22 months. CONCLUSIONS: The thoraco-abdominal extraperitoneal surgical approach for retroperitoneal lymph node dissection after chemotherapy for testicular cancer is safe and has some advantages over anterior approaches, allowing synchronous removal of intrathoracic disease, improved access to nodes above and behind the renal vessels and more rapid post-operative recovery.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Primary retroperitoneal germ cell tumours: excision via a thoracoabdominal extraperitoneal approach.

BACKGROUND: Primary retroperitoneal germ cell tumours usually present as a large abdominal mass in young men. The testes are normal on examination and ultrasonography but there are usually raised serum levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin and/or alpha-fetoprotein. METHODS: Fourteen men (median age 33 years) with primary retroperitoneal germ cell tumours were treated by chemotherapy followed by surgical resection of the primary tumour and metastases via a thoracoabdominal extraperitoneal approach. RESULTS: There was minimal morbidity. The survival rate was 13 of 14 and the disease-free survival rate was 11 of 14 after a median follow-up of 15 months. CONCLUSION: The thoracoabdominal extraperitoneal approach for the removal of retroperitoneal germ cell tumours and their metastases after chemotherapy improves tumour clearance, morbidity and recovery time compared with the transperitoneal anterior approach.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Diagnosis and management of high-pressure peristaltic contractions in cystoplasties.

OBJECTIVE: To define the aetiology of and therapeutic strategy for high-pressure peristaltic contractions within colo- and caecocystoplasties associated with symptoms of frequency, urgency and urge incontinence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a series of over 150 subtotal supratrigonal colo- and caeco-cystoplasties, nine patients were identified with such symptoms. These patients underwent videocystometrography (VCMG) confirming the presence of phasic peristaltic contractions of > 35 cmH2O. RESULTS: In three cases, there was urodynamic evidence of outlet obstruction and symptoms resolved when the obstruction was surgically relieved. In the other six cases, high-pressure peristaltic contractions were present without bladder outlet obstruction. The symptoms did not respond to anticholinergic medication. Three of the six patients had tolerable symptoms which did not warrant further intervention. The other three cases had disabling urge incontinence and underwent ileal patch cystoplasty. The symptoms resolved in all three cases, although later recurred in one patient, probably due to incomplete division of the taenia coli during ileal patch cystoplasty. CONCLUSION: It appears that colonic smooth muscle can develop high-pressure contractions in response to neobladder outlet obstruction. Relieving the obstruction ameliorates symptoms associated with these contractions and reduces the magnitude of the peristaltic waves. Symptoms related to high-pressure peristaltic contractions without neobladder outlet obstruction do not respond to anticholinergic medication but can be successfully treated by ileal patch cystoplasty.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Interstitial cystitis--an update.

Interstitial cystitis is a rare chronic debilitating condition predominantly affecting middle-aged women. The diagnosis, made from the combination of symptoms, cystoscopic findings and bladder biopsies, is often delayed because GPs are often unaware of the condition. The precise aetiology remains obscure and it is clear that there is much research that needs to be undertaken to shed any light on the various current aetiological theories. There is a wide assortment of therapies already available and many more currently under trial. Until there is further progress in the pathogenesis of IC, it seems unlikely that non-operative treatment will consist of anything but palliation. The only potential cures currently available are cystectomy and urinary diversion or surgical replacement of the bladder by enterocystoplasty.

Cystitis, Interstitial↗
PubMed1996

Detrusor myopathy: an accurate predictor of bladder hypocompliance and contracture in interstitial cystitis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether any histological characteristics within the detrusor in cases of early interstitial cystitis (IC) predict the subsequent development of severe symptoms due to bladder contracture. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The detrusor muscle component of bladder biopsies from 21 patients with IC was examined in sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Videocystometrography was performed at least 2 months after the biopsy and the patients were then followed up clinically for at least 3 years. RESULTS: The detrusor appeared normal in 13 patients; in eight there was evidence of detrusor myopathy. Patients with biopsies confirming detrusor myopathy were significantly more likely to have hypocompliant bladders than those with normal detrusor muscle histology (P < 0.02). Over the following 3 years, six of the eight patients with detrusor myopathy developed progressively severe symptoms and required subtotal cystectomy and enterocystoplasty. None of the 13 patients without detrusor myopathy required bladder substitution. CONCLUSION: In IC, detrusor myopathy is associated with bladder hypocompliance. Patients with detrusor myopathy appear to have more severe disease and are more likely to progress to bladder contracture requiring substitution enterocystoplasty.

Contracture↗
PubMed1996

Bladder replacement by ileocystoplasty: the final treatment for interstitial cystitis.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and improve the technique of bladder replacement with ileum in patients with interstitial cystitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 27 patients (23 women and four men, median age 61 years, range 40-79) with chronic severe interstitial cystitis refractory to conservative therapies underwent cystectomy and bladder replacement using an ileal pouch. The relief of pain was assessed over a median follow-up of 30 months (range 2-48). RESULTS: Pain relief was complete in all patients and the median neo-bladder capacity was 520 mL (range 350-700). Only four patients required intermittent self-catheterization to drain post-micturition residual urine. Bladder calculi formed in two patients and were removed successfully at cystoscopy. CONCLUSION: Bladder replacement with ileum in the form of the Kock pouch is an effective surgical treatment for intractable interstitial cystitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Does the mast cell have an intrinsic role in the pathogenesis of interstitial cystitis?

In order to examine the role of mast cells in the inflammatory bladder disease interstitial cystitis, mast cells isolated from the human bladder of normal and diseased tissue were challenged with a range of secretagogues. Calcium ionophore A23187 and anti-IgE caused histamine release from all bladder mast cells in a dose-related manner. Mast cells from the diseased tissue were far more responsive than those from the normal tissue. Mast cells from the muscle of normal bladder were responsive towards substance P and compound 48/80. However, mast cells from interstitial cystitis bladder did not release significant amounts of histamine with these two secretagogues.

Calcimycin↗
PubMed1994

Lymphocyte sub-populations in the bladder wall in normal bladder, bacterial cystitis and interstitial cystitis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify lymphocyte sub-populations within the bladder wall in normal controls, in patients with bacterial cystitis (BC) or interstitial cystitis (IC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Bladder biopsies were taken from 21 patients with IC, four with BC and five normal controls. Immunofluorescent staining of biopsies was performed using monoclonal antibodies to the T cell markers CD3, CD4, CD8, TCR delta 1, delta TCS1, beta F1 and IML. Plasma cells were identified using monoclonal antibodies to IgA, IgG and IgM. The location and numbers of cells were determined. Peripheral blood lymphocyte counts were also performed in each case. RESULTS: T cells (CD4+ and CD8+) were significantly more abundant within the bladder biopsies from patients with interstitial cystitis than in those from the normal controls, and were present within the urothelium and submucosa but not the detrusor. There was no difference between the numbers of T cells present in the biopsies from patients with interstitial cystitis and in those with bacterial cystitis. However, the presence of gamma delta T cells was significantly associated with interstitial cystitis. IgA+ and IgM+ plasma cells were located within the urothelium and submucosa but not the detrusor in patients with IC and the numbers present in these patients were significantly greater than in those with BC or the normal controls. The peripheral blood lymphocyte counts were not altered in any of the study cases. CONCLUSION: The increased numbers of CD4+, CD8+ and gamma delta cells as well as IgA+, IgG+ and IgM+ plasma cells within the urothelium and submucosa in patients with IC suggest that these cells play an active role in the pathogenesis of the disorder. The previously described abnormal urothelial expression of HLA-DR and hyperexpression of Class I molecules in patients with IC may enable these cells to cause destruction of the urothelium--the end stage of IC.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A three month double-blind study of doxazosin as treatment for benign prostatic bladder outlet obstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of doxazosin in the treatment of bladder outflow obstruction resulting from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). PATIENTS AND METHODS: One-hundred and thirty-five patients with symptomatic urodynamically confirmed obstructive BPH were treated for 12 weeks with either doxazosin (67 patients) or placebo (68 patients) after an initial 2 week baseline evaluation. The main outcome measures were urodynamic and symptomatic evaluation for efficacy. Blood pressure and adverse events were monitored. RESULTS: Data were obtained in 122 patients (60 doxazosin, 62 placebo). Doxazosin produced increases in both mean and maximum urinary flow rates of 1.01 ml/s and 3.2 ml/s respectively, compared with 0.21 ml/s and 2.2 ml/s on placebo. The increase in mean flow rate was statistically significant (P = 0.04), while that for maximum flow rate approached significance (P = 0.09). The maximum subtracted voiding pressure was substantially reduced (P = 0.007) and 19 of 53 (36%) patients had an increase in maximum flow rate of 50% or more compared with 9 of 54 (17%) on placebo (P = 0.024). Twelve weeks' therapy with doxazosin resulted in significant improvements (compared with placebo) in: hesitancy (doxazosin 26 of 46, placebo 11 of 43; P = 0.003), impaired urinary stream (doxazosin 31 of 55, placebo 16 of 48; P = 0.019) nocturia (doxazosin 22 of 56, placebo 10 of 54; P = 0.017) and urgency (doxazosin 27 of 45, placebo 16 of 42; P = 0.041). Frequency improved with doxazosin therapy (doxazosin 26 of 59, placebo 15 of 55; P = 0.062). Adverse events, most frequently dizziness and headache, were usually mild and transient and led to a discontinuation of doxazosin therapy in one patient. No clinically significant changes in sexual function or blood pressure were seen. CONCLUSION: Doxazosin was well-tolerated and produced both urodynamic and symptomatic improvement in men with BPH, thereby providing a satisfactory alternative to existing drugs with the additional benefit of once daily dosage.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Search for mycobacteria in interstitial cystitis using mycobacteria-specific DNA probes with signal amplification by polymerase chain reaction.

The aetiology of interstitial cystitis is not known. Various infective agents have been postulated and although recognised as perpetrators of chronic inflammatory conditions, mycobacteria have never been satisfactorily excluded from interstitial cystitis. If present in interstitial cystitis tissue, mycobacteria exist either in very small numbers or in forms which contemporary staining techniques fail to recognise. We used a polymerase chain reaction with mycobacteria-specific DNA probes and found no evidence of mycobacterial involvement in 8 cases of proven interstitial cystitis.

Cystitis↗