OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this series is to report our experience in managing ureteral trauma, focusing on the importance of early diagnosis, correct treatment, and the impact of associated injuries on the management and morbid-mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1994 to December 2002, 1487 laparotomies for abdominal trauma were performed and 20 patients with ureteral lesions were identified, all of them secondary to penetrating injury. Medical charts were analyzed as well as information about trauma mechanisms, diagnostic routine, treatment and outcome. RESULTS: All patients were men. Mean age was 27 years. The mechanisms of injury were gunshot wounds in 18 cases (90%) and stab wounds in two (10%). All penetrating abdominal injuries had primary indication of laparotomy, and neither excretory urography nor computed tomography were used in any case before surgery. The diagnosis of ureteric injury was made intra-operatively in 17 cases (85%). Two ureteral injuries (10%) were initially missed. All patients had associated injuries. The treatment was dictated by the location, extension and time necessary to identify the injury. The overall incidence of complications was 55%. The presence of shock on admission, delayed diagnosis, Abdominal Trauma Index > 25, Injury Severity Score > 25 and colon injuries were associated to a high complication rate, however, there was no statistically significant difference. There were no mortalities in this group. CONCLUSIONS: A high index of suspicion is required for diagnosis of ureteral injuries. A thorough exploration of all retroperitoneal hematoma after penetrating trauma should be an accurate method of diagnosis; even though it failed in 10% of our cases.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the concurrent validity, internal consistency and responsiveness of King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) in patients who underwent sling procedures for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective open label multicenter study in 4 tertiary referral centers. Sixty-eight female patients were enrolled with urodynamically diagnosed urinary stress incontinence. Patients were treated using surgical procedures, mostly (73%) with the synthetic sling procedure, which has been considered one of the gold standard methods for the treatment of urinary incontinence. The patients were assessed before and after one month of postoperative follow up, using the KHQ in its validated Portuguese version. Patients also underwent preoperative urodynamic test, Stamey incontinence grading, pad usage and the assessment of number of pads used per day. After surgery, patients underwent stress test, Stamey incontinence grading pad usage and the assessment of number of pads used per day. RESULTS: The concurrent validity showed good correlations in some domains of KHQ to clinical parameters. The internal consistency was higher after treatment compared to preoperative values. Objective parameters, such as pad usage and the assessment of number of pads used per day, had significant correlation with changes in post-treatment scores on KHQ. The responsiveness expressed in terms of standardized effect size (SES) and standardized response mean (SRM) was large. CONCLUSION: The results showed moderate concurrent validity, strong internal consistency and high responsiveness for KHQ, indicating that it is suitable for measuring outcomes in clinical trials among female patients with stress urinary incontinence.

INTRODUCTION: SAFYREä is a readjustable and minimally invasive sling for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). It is as a pubovaginal sling placed in the medial third of the urethra. The initial experience is described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-five patients (mean age = 59 years) underwent a SAFYREä implant to treat SUI. Physical examination and urodynamic study were performed before surgery. All patients presented symptoms of SUI and 20% also reported mild urgency. Approximately 60% of this group had a previously failed anti-incontinence procedure. Urethral hypermobility was diagnosed in 40% of the patients and intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD) in 60% of the cases. RESULTS: The average follow up period was 10 months. The mean operative time was 20 minutes. Dystopia repair was performed whenever necessary, during the same procedure. The average hospital stay was 24 hours. In 11% of the implants, bladder perforation occurred. During the postoperative period, 9 patients (20%) developed transient urgency symptoms. During the initial follow up period, 90% were found to be continent, 3% reported an improvement and 7% were unchanged. CONCLUSION: SAFYREä is a safe and quick procedure that allows postoperative readjustment. This technique may be an attractive alternative in the management of SUI, should the good result obtained so far prove to be long lasting.