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INTRODUCTION: This study was conducted to identify and understand the current factors affecting recruitment, job satisfaction, and retention of U.S. Army Medical Corps officers and provide historical background to understand if the current factors are dissimilar. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An anonymous, voluntary questionnaire was sent to U.S. Army Medical Corps officers, and responses were tabulated and analyzed. Historical research was conducted and historical analysis applied. RESULTS: Recruiting, job satisfaction, and retention among Army Medical Corps Officers have been problematic throughout the 50-year history of the all-volunteer force. Recruiting has largely been of medical students, with very limited numbers of direct accessions. At times, satisfactory overall numbers have camouflaged shortages in key go-to-war specialties. Also, satisfactory numbers in a specialty have sometimes camouflaged problems in depth of experience. Satisfaction has been seen as a problem but apparently only studied informally and/or episodically. Retention has largely been addressed through service obligations, followed by monetary bonuses, although these have to be across the Department of Defense, limiting service flexibility. There has never been consistent, longitudinal sampling of opinion among Medical Corps Officers to allow senior leaders to influence the Department of Defense policy. A recent (2016) study provides substantial data but should be repeated rather than being isolated. CONCLUSION: As the situation in the Department of Defense and Army Medical Department changes, with more focus on go-to-war specialties, the Army needs to better measure opinion among Medical Corps Officers to inform policy. These studies should be conducted regularly to generate reliable information on trends and allow prioritization of effort to areas that hamper recruiting, undermine satisfaction, and prevent retention.

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INTRODUCTION: It is critical the U.S. Army retains skilled physicians in the Medical Corps (MC) to ensure direct support to military operations and medical readiness. The purpose of this study was to examine U.S. Army physicians' opinions concerning: readiness to perform required duties, work environment, support and recognition they receive, military career intentions, and how these factors may relate to Army physician job satisfaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study of Army physicians was conducted using a 45-item web-based survey tool, "Army Medicine Medical Corps (MC) Engagement/Satisfaction Survey 2018." The survey used a combination of multiple choice (Likert-scaled and categorical) and open text statements and questions. Satisfaction with their Army physician career was measured using a 5-point unipolar Likert scale response on level of satisfaction. Chi-square tests of independence were conducted on all demographic characteristics to examine if levels of satisfaction with Army physician career were associated with a particular demographic profile. Agreement opinions expressed on 20 statements about professional readiness, work environment, and job recognition were summarized and rank-ordered by percentage of "strongly agree" responses. Categorical responses to several questions related to career intentions were summarized overall and by career satisfaction level. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify demographic factors, which may influence career satisfaction as an Army physician. RESULTS: Approximately 47% (2,050/4,334) of U.S. Army physicians participated in the MC 2018 survey. Career satisfaction percentages overall were: "extremely satisfied" (10.0%), "quite satisfied" (24.8%), "moderately satisfied" (33.9%), "slightly satisfied" (22.6%), and "not at all satisfied" (8.3%). Respondents were in least agreement to statements about sufficient administrative support and recognition of doing good work. Logistic regression results showed military rank as a significant predictor of negative career satisfaction as an Army physician. For Captains, the odds for being "not at all satisfied" with their military career were almost nine times that of Colonels. Also, compared to their baseline group, physicians who completed their graduate medical education training, mission critical surgeons, and physicians who worked in military treatment facilities that were either a hospital (not a medical center) or a clinic-ambulatory surgery center had a greater risk of being "not at all satisfied" with their career as an Army physician. CONCLUSIONS: There is significant room for improvement in MC officer career satisfaction. The drivers of satisfaction are multiple and apply differently among MC officers of varied ranks and experience. Senior officers are the ones who are the most satisfied with their military career. Results of this novel MC officer study may serve as an impetus to identify existing shortcomings and make necessary changes to retain skilled Army physicians. Army leaders should invest resources to develop and sustain initiatives that improve military career satisfaction and retention of MC officers.

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INTRODUCTION: The U.S. Military Health System cares for over 9 million patients and encompasses 63 hospitals and 413 clinics worldwide. Military medicine balances the simultaneous tasks of caring for those patients wounded in military engagements, treating large numbers of families of service men and women, and training the next generation of health care providers and ancillary staff. Similar to civilian health care delivery in the United States, military medicine has also seen increased scrutiny in the areas of cost and quality. In 2014, the U.S. military medical health care system was criticized for higher than average surgical complication rates and concerns regarding patient safety, quality of care, lack of transparency, and compartmentalized leadership. The San Antonio Military Medical Center was specifically cited as having "a perennial problem with surgical infection control…the infection rate of surgical wounds was 77% higher than expected given the mix of cases, according to a Pentagon-ordered comparison with civilian hospitals." To determine the scope of complication rates, data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) were analyzed. The goal of this article is to describe the NSQIP surgical outcome data for the U.S. Military's largest medical center from 2009 to 2014 and compare national averages in the areas of mortality, morbidity, cardiac occurrences, pneumonia, unplanned intubation, ventilator use greater than 48 hours, infections, readmissions, and return to operating room. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective data analysis of NSQIP data from 2009 to 2014 at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, a level I trauma center for military members and eligible dependents along with civilian trauma patients. Observed event rates were compared with expected event rates for each year with the 2-tail Fisher's exact test to determine if rates were significantly different from each other. Cochran-Armitage Trend Test was performed to compare trends in time for the observed event rates. This study was exempt from institutional review board Approval. RESULTS: Complication rates remained stable or decreased over the 5 years studied. Significant improvement in morbidity and surgical site infections were observed during the observation period. All other variables except urinary tract infections were within expected range or decreased during this time. Urinary tract infection rates, although decreasing, remain above the expected value. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: NSQIP data at the Department of Defense's largest hospital reveals complication rates similar to civilian hospitals. The majority of areas studied revealed improving or stable complication rates. The ACS NSQIP is a nationally validated, risk-adjusted, outcomes program that is widely used by many leading hospital institutions. Similar to most quality data reporting articles, a weakness of our study may have been collection of all complications. Yet, we are confident that the majority of complications were captured as we have dedicated personnel monitoring the adverse events measured by ACS NSQIP. Future areas of study should focus on continued analysis of surgical quality improvement within the entire military system.

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PURPOSE: In this study we report the number, nature and severity of genitourinary injuries among male U.S. service members deployed to Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study of the Department of Defense Trauma Registry used ICD-9-CM codes to identify service members with genitourinary injuries, and used Abbreviated Injury Scale codes to determine injury severity, genitourinary organs injured and comorbid injuries. RESULTS: From October 2001 to August 2013, 1,367 male U.S. service members sustained 1 or more genitourinary injuries. The majority of injuries involved the external genitalia (1,000, 73.2%), including the scrotum (760, 55.6%), testes (451, 33.0%), penis (423, 31%) and/or urethra (125, 9.1%). Overall more than a third of service members with genitourinary injury sustained at least 1 severe genitourinary injury (502, 36.7%). Loss of 1 or both testes was documented in 146 men, including 129 (9.4%) unilateral orchiectomies and 17 (1.2%) bilateral orchiectomies. Common comorbid injuries included traumatic brain injury (549, 40.2%), pelvic fracture (341, 25.0%), colorectal injury (297, 21.7%) and lower extremity amputations (387, 28.7%). CONCLUSIONS: An unprecedented number of U.S. service members sustained genitourinary injury while deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. Further study is needed to describe the long-term impact of genitourinary injury and determine the potential need for novel treatments to improve sexual, urinary and/or reproductive function among service members with severe genital injury.

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BACKGROUND: In Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF), genitourinary (GU) wounds have occurred in unprecedented numbers. Severe concomitant injuries, including extremity amputations, are common. The epidemiology of GU injury and extremity amputation in OEF/OIF has not been described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Department of Defense Trauma Registry was queried from October 2001 through August 2013 to identify all surviving US male service members with GU injuries sustained in OEF/OIF. Genitourinary injury was defined as sustaining one or more injuries to any organ or structure within the genitourinary and/or reproductive system(s) based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes. Injury severity was quantified based on Abbreviated Injury Scale scores and overall Injury Severity Scores. The incidence, nature, and severity of GU injuries and extremity amputations are described. RESULTS: Of the 1,367 service members with GU injury included in this analysis, 433 (31.7%) had one or more extremity amputations. Most GU injuries were to the external genitalia [scrotum (55.6%), testes (33.0%), penis (31.0%), and urethra (9.1%)] vs. the kidneys (21.1%). Those with amputation(s) had greater GU injury severity (Abbreviated Injury Scale score ≥ 3) than those without amputations (50.1% vs. 30.5%, respectively; p < 0.0001). Approximately 3.4% of male service members with GU injury had an upper extremity amputation only, 8.9% had both lower and upper extremity amputation(s), and 19.4% had lower extremity amputation(s) only. Of the 387 patients with GU injury and lower extremity amputations, 87 (22.5%) had amputations below the knee and 300 (77.5%) had amputation(s) at/above the knee. CONCLUSION: In OEF/OIF, concomitant GU injury and extremity amputation are common and have serious implications for health and quality of life. This wounding pattern presents new challenges to the military medical and research and development communities to prevent, mitigate, and treat these battlefield injuries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Epidemiologic/prognostic study, level III.

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BACKGROUND: The use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) has had a profound effect on battlefield trauma in the 21st century. Historically, wounds to the genitourinary (GU) structures have been less common than extremity and penetrating abdominal trauma in combat operations. GU injury incidence, severity, and associated injuries secondary to the use of this weapon in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom has not been described. METHODS: Data from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry was reviewed for combat-related GU injuries in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom from 2001 to 2011. All wounded US armed service members are included in this database. Subjects were selected by a query of current procedural terminology and DRG International Classification of Diseases-9th Rev. codes related to traumatic injury of the penis, scrotum, testicles, and urethra. A retrospective chart review was performed for each patient to identify the date of injury, the mechanism of injury, and the associated traumatic wounds. Subjects' follow-up records were reviewed until present time or separation from active duty. RESULTS: A total of 501 soldiers sustained lower GU trauma, with a total of 729 injuries. Of these casualties, 448 (89%) were wounded by IEDs. Dismounted injuries (87%) made up more of the cohort than did vehicular. Specific trauma sites include 149 (20%) penile, 260 (36%) testicular, 284 (39%) scrotal, and 36 (5%) urethral injuries. The 180 limb amputations (36%) and 86 fractures (17%) were the most encountered concomitant skeletal wounds among service members with GU injuries. CONCLUSION: This is the first review of all lower GU trauma sustained by all US armed service members in current overseas combat operations. Combat-related lower GU trauma is primarily caused by IEDs in the spectrum of complex dismounted blast injuries. The mechanism primarily results in multisystem injury, with isolated GU involvement being uncommon. Continued evaluation of long-term sequelae, including sexual, urinary, and reproductive dysfunction, is needed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Epidemiologic study, level V.

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CONTEXT: When a health care system deals with complex trauma patients while simultaneously serving as an educational platform, teamwork and clear communication are imperative. While there are numerous tools and resources available to address the concerns surrounding patient safety, Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) emphasizes a team approach to improve communication among all caregivers and is specifically designed to improve patient safety through improved communication. This article reports the interim results of implementation of TeamSTEPPS in the operating room environment at the most complex and busiest tertiary military trauma center in the Department of Defense in the midst of the longest period of continuous combat operations in US history. METHODS: Data were collected from December 2013 through March 2014 on the number of total cases performed by month, number of debrief surveys submitted for those months, and associated percentage of surveys completed based on case category. RESULTS: The overall compliance rate for the TeamSTEPPS process (from the pre-op brief to the debrief survey completion) was 75.1%. Responses showed a decrease in concerns in all areas during the period of observation. Equipment-related complaints decreased by 48%; instrument-related issues decreased by 29.9%; supply issues decreased by 53.3%; personnel issues decreased by 90.5%; case scheduling issues decreased by 35.7%; and preference card issues decreased by 72.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that TeamSTEPPS can be successfully implemented in an integrated level-1 trauma center in the midst of combat casualty care with a greater than 75% overall compliance with TeamSTEPPS briefs. Further study on the sustainability of these results and the effect on operating room safety, productivity, and efficiency is necessary.

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Circumcision of male infants and children is a common ritual in Afghanistan. As in many other developing countries, there are few safeguards relating to the procedure, particularly in rural areas. Performance of ritual circumcision may result in complications requiring treatment beyond the capabilities of the practitioner performing the initial procedure. It is not uncommon for local nationals to seek care at deployed military medical facilities for a wide variety of problems, and complications related to attempted circumcision are no exception. We describe 2 such cases recently presented to a US Army combat support hospital in rural Afghanistan for surgical treatment of the unintended consequences of male circumcision. We offer a review of the most common complications associated with circumcision and treatment options for each. It is valuable for the surgeon operating at the military medical hospital in remote areas of the world to be familiar with the management of the most common complications of circumcision.

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UNLABELLED: WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: Little is known as to the potential for over-treatment of young men diagnosed with prostate cancer. We show that for men aged ≤55 years with PSA screen-detected disease, 45% of the tumours are classified as very low risk and 85% of these have favourable pathology, yet most are actively treated. These findings raise the spectre of over-treatment for a group of men likely to be affected by treatment side-effects. OBJECTIVE: To identify a population of young men (aged <55 years at diagnosis) with very-low-risk prostate cancer (stage cT1c, with prostate-specific antigen [PSA] density of <0.15 ng/mL/g, Gleason score ≤6, and ≤2 positive biopsy cores with <50% tumour involvement) that may be candidates for active surveillance (AS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We queried a Department of Defense tumour registry and hard-copy records for servicemen diagnosed with prostate cancer from 1987 to 2010. Statistical analyses were undertaken using Fisher's exact and chi-square testing. RESULTS: From 1987-1991 and 2007-2010, PSA screen-detected tumours diagnosed in men aged ≤55 years rose >30-fold. Data for a subset of men (174) with PSA screen-detected cancer were evaluable for disease risk assessment. Of the 174 men with screen-detected disease, 81 (47%) had very-low-risk disease. Of that group, 96% (78/81) selected treatment and, of 57 men undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP), the tumours of 49 (86%) carried favourable pathology (organ confined, <10% gland involvement, Gleason ≤6). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of young men with PSA screen-detected prostate cancer are AS candidates but the overwhelming majority seek treatment. Considering that many tumours show favourable pathology at RP, there is a possibility that these patients may benefit from AS management.

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PURPOSE: Virtual reality surgical simulation is an emerging technology that may eventually fill the gaps in surgical education created by changes in our medical system. We assessed the construct validity of a commercially available, virtual reality transurethral prostate resection simulator. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants performed 2, 5-minute transurethral prostate resection exercises on a standardized virtual reality prostate. Data from the first exercise were discarded. Simulator based metrics from the second exercise were tabulated, including tissue resected in gm, number of cuts, coagulation time, number of coagulation attempts, tissue per cut in gm and blood loss. Complications were recorded. Performance metrics were compared between groups based on urological training level and prior real-world experience with transurethral prostate resection. RESULTS: A total of 35 participants with varied levels of transurethral prostate resection experience completed the exercise. Several performance metrics had statistically significant correlations with urology training level and prior experience with transurethral prostate resection. There was a positive correlation of all measures of experience with mass resected, mass resected per cut and blood loss. Number of cuts correlated significantly with transurethral prostate resection experience in the previous year. Complications were present in most groups with medical students more likely to encounter external urethral sphincter and rectal injuries. CONCLUSIONS: We report the construct validity of a commercially available, virtual reality transurethral prostate resection simulator. The more experienced participants resected more tissue in a more efficient manner but with increased blood loss. Further investigations are needed before the widespread application of transurethral prostate resection simulators for training, certification and accreditation.

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BACKGROUND: This article reports on the occurrences and patterns of genitourinary (GU) trauma in the contemporary high-intensity conflict of the overseas contingency operations (OCOs). METHODS: The Joint Theater Trauma Registry was queried for all US military members who received treatment for GU wounds and concomitant injuries sustained in OCOs for >75 months between October 2001 and January 2008. RESULTS: Of the 16,323 trauma admissions annotated in the Joint Theater Trauma Registry, 819 (5%) had one or more GU injuries. Of the GU casualties, 90% were sustained in Iraq and 65% were because of explosions. The average casualty age was 26 years (range, 18-58 years) and 98.5% were men. There were 887 unique GU injuries distributed as follows: scrotum, 257 (29.0%); kidney, 203 (22.9%); bladder, 189 (21.3%); penis, 126 (14.2%); testicle, 81 (9.1%); ureter, 24 (2.7%); and urethra, 7 (0.8%). Of the 203 patients with kidney injuries, 22% went to the operating room with 31 patients having nephrectomies. There were 189 bladder injuries with 26 patients (14%) having concomitant pelvic fractures. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest report of GU injuries during any military conflict. The distribution and percentage of casualties with GU injuries in the OCO are similar to those of previous conflicts. Consideration should be given to personnel protective equipment for the areas associated with GU injuries and predeployment training directed at the care of these injuries.

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PURPOSE: To define the impact of discordant Gleason sum (GS) between prostate biopsy (Pbx) tissue and radical prostatectomy (RP) specimen among men initially diagnosed with Gleason 6 or 7 prostate adenocarcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated patients diagnosed with GS 6 or 7 and treated primarily with RP. We defined the frequency of GS discordance between Pbx and RP pathology reports. We analyzed pretreatment parameters associated with GS discordance and compared immediate postprostatectomy outcome variables across patient groups defined by their GS and concordance. We then conducted survival analysis for biochemical recurrence across patient groups defined by their GS and concordance status. RESULTS: Among patients with GS 6 on Pbx, 681/1,847 (36.86%) patients were upgraded to GS 7 or higher after RP. Surgical margin, capsular involvement, seminal vesicle, and nodal involvement status were more favorable in patients with concordant Pbx and RP specimen with GS 6 (P < 0.0001). Patients with smaller transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) prostate volume were found to have higher PSA densities and were more likely to be upgraded at RP. Multivariate survival analysis also predicted fewer biochemical recurrence events over time in men with concordant Pbx tissue and RP specimen of GS 6 vs. 6/7 or 7/7 (P = 0.0025) controlling for other relevant covariates. CONCLUSIONS: GS discordance between Pbx tissue and RP specimens among prostate cancer patients initially diagnosed with either GS 6 or 7 adenocarcinoma of the prostate is substantial. This discordance has potential clinical significance in predicting oncologic outcomes.

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The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence and pathology of scrotal pain among military men deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. It is a retrospective review of patients seen by the urology service at a U.S. Army combat support hospital (CSH) in Iraq from March 29, 2007 to August 12, 2007. Of the 222 outpatient visits to the urology service 81 (36%) had 1 or more scrotal complaints for a total of 90 scrotal-related problems. The vast majority (86%) were found to have epididymitis. Scrotal sonograms on these patients found only 1 patient with a testicular neoplasm. Varicocele (6.2%), spermatocele (4.9%), and hydrocele (2.5%) accounted for the remaining scrotal findings. Urologic referrals for scrotal problems are common in the deployed environment. We feel the best treatment for chronic scrotal pain in theater is conservative with urologic referral in patients who fail their initial course of therapy.

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PURPOSE: Hormonal therapy (HT) is the current mainstay of systemic treatment for prostate specific antigen (PSA) only recurrence (PSAR), however, there is virtually no published literature comparing HT to observation in the clinical setting. The goal of this study was to examine the Department of Defense Center for Prostate Disease Research observational database to compare clinical outcomes in men who experienced PSAR after radical prostatectomy by early versus delayed use of HT and by a risk stratified approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 5,382 men in the database who underwent primary radical prostatectomy (RP), 4,967 patients were treated in the PSA-era between 1988 and December 2002. Of those patients 1,352 men who had PSAR (PSA after surgery greater than 0.2 ng/ml) and had postoperative followup greater than 6 months were used as the study cohort. These patients were further divided into an early HT group in which patients (355) received HT after PSA only recurrence but before clinical metastasis and a late HT group for patients (997) who received no HT before clinical metastasis or by current followup. The primary end point was the development of clinical metastases. Of the 1,352 patients with PSAR clinical metastases developed in 103 (7.6%). Patients were also stratified by surgical Gleason sum, PSA doubling time and timing of recurrence. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the effect of early and late HT on clinical outcome. RESULTS: Early HT was associated with delayed clinical metastasis in patients with a pathological Gleason sum greater than 7 or PSA doubling time of 12 months or less (Hazards ratio = 2.12, p = 0.01). However, in the overall cohort early HT did not impact clinical metastases. Race, age at RP and PSA at diagnosis had no effect on metastasis-free survival (p >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The retrospective observational multicenter database analysis demonstrated that early HT administered for PSAR after prior RP was an independent predictor of delayed clinical metastases only for high-risk cases at the current followup. Further study with longer followup and randomized trials are needed to address this important issue.

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PURPOSE: Descriptions of posterior urethral penetrating injuries are rare in the literature and their management is poorly described. We reviewed the medical records of 19 men who sustained posterior urethral gunshot wounds and report our experience with various treatment options. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 19 men (mean age 27 years) who sustained posterior urethral gunshot wound injuries confirmed by retrograde urethrography and/or exploratory laparotomy. Treatment options included immediate primary repair in 2 patients, delayed reconstruction in 15 and complete prostatectomy in 2. Outcomes were described by flow rates and lower urinary tract symptoms. RESULTS: Of 15 patients who underwent delayed repair 13 (86.6%) demonstrated normal flow rates and lack of lower urinary tract symptoms. The 2 remaining patients experienced obliterative stricture recurrences and were treated with open surgery. Both patients who underwent immediate primary repair had normal flow rates. Of the 2 men who underwent immediate prostatectomy 1 had moderate incontinence requiring absorbent pad use and the other was lost to followup after he was discharged home with a suprapubic catheter in place. CONCLUSIONS: An initial management strategy based on the principles of maximizing urinary catheter drainage, with direct retropubic repair/urethral realignment when possible and definitive perineal reconstruction when necessary, appears to provide acceptable outcomes while minimizing the number of subsequent interventions required.

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A new diagnosis of prostate cancer presents to both the patient and physician questions regarding the best approach for further assessing the extent of disease prior to selecting a treatment strategy. In addition to the initial clinical data such as serum prostate-specific antigen level, findings on digital rectal examination, and core biopsy Gleason score, several procedures and imaging modalities are available to further stage newly diagnosed prostate cancer. A substantial percentage of the cost of managing prostate cancer is directly related to staging evaluations. Often, staging evaluations are performed that have limited test performance characteristics, subject the patient to unnecessary morbidity, or simply do not provide additional useful clinical information. It is important that the physician be familiar with the indications for the available staging modalities as well as the test performance characteristics in order to proceed appropriately and in an economically judicious fashion. This paper reviews the literature on this topic and summarizes previous experiences with procedures and imaging modalities for staging newly diagnosed prostate cancer.

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OBJECTIVES: To evaluate laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) specimens for pathologic stage and the malignant and benign surgical margin status to determine areas for improvement in surgical technique. LRP is gaining significant attention as a viable alternative to retropubic radical prostatectomy. METHODS: A total of 110 consecutive LRP specimens were retrospectively reviewed. A single experienced genitourinary pathologist examined all slides. In addition, exposure of benign glands at the inked margin was reported. Oncologic data were assessed by standard pathologic examination for stage, grade, and margin status. The pathologic data from year 1 (group 1, 52 patients) were compared with the data from subsequent years (group 2, 58 patients). RESULTS: The overall positive surgical margin rate was 18.2% (13.5% for pT2 disease). Benign parenchymal exposure was identified in 16 patients (14.5%). Six of these patients had concomitant negative surgical margins for cancer. The positive margin rate for patients with Stage pT2 disease was 22.2% in group 1 and 5.9% in group 2. The positive margin rate was 34.8%, 13.6%, and 13.8% for bilateral, unilateral, and non-nerve-sparing procedures, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: LRP offers comparable surgical margins to those of reported open prostatectomy series. Careful pathologic review provides feedback so that technique modifications can be implemented and the positive margin rates improved further. A low, but significant, positive margin or benign parenchymal exposure rate in pT2 disease indicates room for improvement in the surgical technique. The presence of benign glands at the inked margin is not routinely reported but does provide an additional parameter of surgical adequacy.

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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Health-related quality of life (QoL) concerns are important for patients selecting treatment options for clinically localized prostate cancer and are critical in evaluating outcomes. We report pretreatment and post-treatment general and disease-specific QoL for the following invasive interventions: open radical prostatectomy (ORP), laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP), and palladium-103 ((103)Pd) brachytherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective longitudinal survey of 452 patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer treated at a single medical center between 2001 and 2003. An Institutional Review Board-approved questionnaire comprised of validated QoL instruments was sent to patients scheduled to undergo ORP (N = 186), LRP (N = 116), or brachytherapy (N = 150). The same questionnaire was sent out 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after therapy. Comparisons were made between the groups to determine if the choice of therapy resulted in differences in QoL. RESULTS: General QoL scores were minimally affected by the choices; however, the disease-specific domains of bowel, urinary, and sexual function were adversely affected by all modalities. The ORP and LRP groups were similar among disease-specific domains and received lower post-treatment urinary and sexual scores than the (103)Pd patients. At 12 months, 38% of ORP and 46% of LRP patients had returned to baseline urinary function compared with 75% of (103)Pd patients. At 12 months, 63% of (103)Pd patients had returned to baseline sexual function compared with 19% of both the LRP and ORP patients. CONCLUSIONS: Invasive treatments for localized prostate cancer have little impact on general QoL but significantly affect disease-specific domains. Both ORP and LRP have a greater initial negative impact on urinary and sexual function than (103)Pd. The differences among the treatments with regard to QoL provide information to patients faced with choosing a treatment.

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PURPOSE: To review the current literature and data describing primary endoscopic treatment of upper tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Published, peer-reviewed articles on ureteroscopic, percutaneous, and laparoscopic treatment of upper tract TCC were identified using the MEDLINE database. RESULTS: Nephroureterectomy has been considered the "gold standard" for upper tract TCC. Minimally invasive approaches, initially advocated for patients requiring a nephron sparing approach (i.e., solitary kidney or renal insufficiency) or those with significant comorbidities precluding definitive surgery, have been increasingly used with the further refinement of ureteroscopy, percutaneous renal surgery, and laparoscopy. Ureteroscopy has been used successfully, resulting in recurrence rates ranging from 31% to 65% and disease-free rates of 35% to 86%. Progression and metastatic rates are low and correlate with tumor grade. Likewise, percutaneous approaches show disease specific survival and recurrence rates correlating with tumor grade. Patients with low-grade tumors (Grades 1-2) do well with this approach with recurrence rates and disease specific survival rates of 26% to 28% and 96% to 100%, respectively. For those patients requiring complete extirpation of the kidney and ureter, laparoscopic nephroureterectomy results in decreased postoperative pain, shorter hospital stay, and more rapid convalescence without compromising cancer control. CONCLUSIONS: Nephron sparing approaches in well-selected patients with low stage and low-grade disease can be treated endoscopically with ureteroscopy and percutaneous renal surgery. Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy offers a safe, minimally invasive alternative to traditional open surgical techniques for patients with TCC of the upper urinary tract.

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