(Objective) To evaluate the clinical usefulness of the classification for renal injury, proposed by Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma (JAST).
(Method) JAST classification for renal injuries consists of categories as: Type I (subcapsular injury); Type II (superficial injury); type III (deep injury); type IV (pedicle injury). Type III injuries are subclassified into: IIIa (deep laceration); IIIb (transection); IIIc (fragmentation). Type IV aresubclassified as: IVa (M), IVa (S) (the occlusion of main or segmental renal artery); IVb (renal vessels laceration). Each of the degrees of severity in hemorrhage (H factor) and extravasation of urine (U factor) should be appended as: H0, U0 (not recognized); H1, U1 (remaining within perinephric space); H2, U2 (extending through Gerota's fascia); H3, U3 (extending to contralateral side) . We examined the initial management and overall outcome of blunt renal injuries recorded at our institute. All patients were classified according to the JAST criteria. Statistical analyses were applied to find the correlations between type and H factor, and between type and U factor. We also determined which parameter (type, H or U) is the most significant factor responsible for the outcome of treatment in the injured kidney.
(Result) One hundred and fifteen consecutive cases of blunt renal injuries from 1982 to 1999 were investigated. Significant correlations were observed between type (I-IIIc) and H factor, and also between type (IIIa-IIIc) and U factor. Twenty-nine patients (25%) underwent immediate surgical exploration; 1 (2%) in type I or II or IVa (5), 5 (18%) in IIIa, 4 (50%) in IIIb, 7 (100%) in IIIc and 12 (100%) in IVa (M) or IVb. Among the 86 conservatively-managed patients, TAE or surgical intervention was required later in six patients. Nineteen (17%) patients were nephrectomized. The renal loss rates were 0% in type I or II or IVa (S), 7% in IIIa, 25% in IIIb, 57% in IIIc and 92% in IVa (M) or IVb, respectively. The differences of seventies of the type and the H factor are statistically significant between the groups of injured kidney preserved and lost. Logistic regression analysis suggested that the type was an independent factor predicting outcomes of injured kidneys.
(Conclusion) It seemed that the type category is most useful when managing patients with renal injuries and also evaluating outcomes of them.

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(Purpose) To investigate the length of hospitalization and medical charges when a common clinical path for TURP (transurethral resection of prostate) was implemented in multiple hospitals.
(Patients and Methods) This study included 310 patients in 2001 and 298 in 2002, who were diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia and who underwent TURP in seven hospitals in Japan. While the patients were treated according to the managing methods of each hospital in 2001, the patients were managed using a common clinical path in 2002, on which we conferred and established in 2001. We investigated the change of various outcome indicators before and after implementation of the common clinical path.
(Results) The background of patients and surgical outcome in 2002 were equal to those in 2001, except in incidence of preoperative urinary tract infection, general anesthesia and blood transfusion, and number of surgeons. Implementation of a common clinical path shortened the pre- and postoperative hospital stay, duration of bed rest, administration of antibiotics and Foleycatheter indwelling, and reduced the standard deviation of these indicators. The total medical charge decreased from 515, 439 to 491, 935 yen. However, outcomes were considerably different among the seven hospitals. Multivariate analyses identified the hospitals, cognitive impairment, preoperative indwelling catheter and preoperative variance as the factors affecting preoperative hospital stay, and the hospitals, co-existing disease, blood transfusion, postoperative urinary tract infection and postoperative variance as factors affecting postoperative stay. Based on these analyses, we determined four exclusion criteria against using a common clinical path: 1) patients requiring examination or surgery other than TURP simultaneously, 2) patients whose ADL disturbance, cognitive impairment, past history and/or coexisting disease are expected to affect postoperative convalescence, 3) patients with a preoperative indwelling catheter just before operation, and 4) patients with preoperative urinary tract infection. By excluding 122 (39.4%) and 129 (43.3%) patients fulfilling the above criteria in 2001 and 2002, respectively, there were reduction in the length of pre- and postoperative hospital stay, and the total admission fee. Furthermore, there were decrease in their standard deviations.
(Conclusions) A common clinical path was valid for reducing variance of the critical indicators affecting the clinical course of TURP and shortening the pre-and postoperative stay in the multiple hospitals. It is mandatory to establish the standard perioperative management for TURP from the viewpoint of urologists, under the circumstances of the impending introduction of the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC).

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(Purpose) We conducted a questionnaire survey to elucidate the rating of the patients who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and were managed by a common clinical path during hospitalization.
(Patients and Methods) At the day of discharge from seven hospitals in Japan, the questionnaires were handed to 298 patients who underwent TURP in 2002. In the path, it was determined that the patients should be admitted one day before surgery and discharged on the seventh postoperative day.
(Results) The questionnaires were returned by 240 (80.5%) patients. Of the 212 patients answering a question regarding the desirable preoperative hospital stay, 58 (27.4%), 85 (40.1%) and 46 (21.7%) considered 1, 2 and 3 days as a desirable preoperative stay, respectively. Of the 206 answering a question about the desirable postoperative hospital stay, 54 (26.2%), 28 (13.6%) and 60 (29.1%) considered 7, 8 and 9-10 days as a desirable postoperative hospital stay, respectively. Of the 240 patients, 229 (95.4%) received the path for the patients, 234 (97.5%) understood the treatment methods well and 229 (95.4%) understood the schedule during hospitalization well. Two hundred thirtysix (98.3%) and 218 (90.8%) patients answered that as scheduled, they started to have meals and started to walk, respectively. Continuous drip infusion was terminated in 219 (91.3%) as scheduled, and indwelling catheters were removed in 215 (89.6%) as scheduled.
(Conclusions) This questionnaire survey elucidated that approximately 70% of the patients who underwent TURP wanted to stay 1 or 2 days before surgery and 7 to 10 days after surgery. We consider it very important that patients understand well the treatment methods, complications, schedules during hospitalization and criteria for discharge when they are managed using the clinical path, so they will accept better a length of hospital stay that is shorter than that which they had desired.

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A 61-year-old man presented with an asymptomatic intrapelvic retrovesical tumor, measuring 8.5cm in maximum diameter, which was revealed by preoperative diagnostic imaging for transverse colon cancer. When he was referred to our department one year after hemi-colectomy, this tumor showed no change in size, but there was some suspicion of concomitant malignancy because of large tumor size and contrast enhancement in a region adherent to the right seminal vesicle. En-bloc resection of the tumor along with the right seminal vesicle was performed retroperitoneally. The tumor was diagnosed histopathologically as retroperitoneal ganglioneuroma. Herein, we report this rare case of intrapelvic retroperitoneal ganglioneuroma, and present a brief review of the relevant literature including the present case.

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A 76-year-old woman presented with gross hematuria and was referred to our OPD. Cystoscopy showed broad-based papillary tumors on the left bladder wall. TUR-BT was performed and pathological diagnosis was grade 3 transitional cell carcinoma of pT1a. Although no intravesical tumor recurrence had been observed, a solid palpable mass was noted in the lower abdomen nine months after TUR-BT, and computed tomography suggested a large ovarian tumor. Subsequently performed was the operation at Gynecology, which revealed a large tumor involving the whole major omentum. Frozen sections of the tumor were diagnosed as transitional cell carcinoma metastases of the bladder cancer, and the final pathological report was the same. Although receiving 4 courses of M-VAC systemic chemotherapy after the operation, she died 14 months later. Autopsy disclosed intraperitoneal cancer dissemination and metastases without any intravesical nor left perivesical tumor recurrence, and it was suggested that the bladder tumor metastases occurred not by direct invasion but by either lymphatic or vascular mechanism in this case.

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Carcinomatous meningitis from urothelial carcinoma of the bladder and ureter is rare. A 77-year-old man with invasive bladder cancer and right ureter cancer had been treated with 3 courses M-VAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, epirubicin, cisplatin) chemotherapy. After chemotherapy we performed radical cystectomy and right nephroureterectomy (ileal-neobladder) (TCC, G3, pT3, N0, M0). Sixteen months after operation, patient complained of anorexia, muscular weakness, stiff neck. CT of chest and abdomen, and bone scintigraphy showed no metastasis. Brain CT and MRI showed hydrocephalus but no evidence of parenchymal metastasis. Because we suspected carcinomatous meningitis, we performed lumbar puncture. Cerebrospinal fluid cytology revealed classy (urothelial carcinoma). Patient died 6 days after diagnosis of carcinomatous meningitis.

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