Dear Editor, The standard of care for endometrial cancer is a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and pelvic lymph node dissection (THBSO-PLND). Obesity is a known risk factor for endometrial cancer, and obese patients are challenging to operate on due to their anatomy and comorbidities. A recent database search showed...

Dear Editor, Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the key complications occurring in 25–40% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).1 Our earlier study also showed that CKD was present in 53% of patients with T2DM recruited from a secondary care diabetes centre and primary care polyclinic...

Dear Editor, Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by radiation therapy for breast cancer offers improved cosmetic results and comparable long-term survival rates as mastectomy.1 However, BCS is associated with a higher risk for local recurrence, and published literature has reported re-excision rates as high as 20–70% due to positive resection...

Dear Editor, Transseptal access to the left heart is increasingly performed for electrophysiological procedures and for structural heart disease interventions such as balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV), left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) and transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr). Most of the iatrogenic atrial septal defects (iASDs) close spontaneously, and for those...

Cryptococcosis is a well-recognised infection in immunocompromised patients, although its prevalence varies with the type of immune defect. We report a patient with myasthenia gravis (MG) on steroid therapy and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) who developed cryptococcal meningitis and in whom a search for a persistent focus by...

Urogenital fistulas are a known but uncommon complication of gynaecological surgery, especially those involving a malignant process. Its incidence does not exceed 2%. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

To our knowledge this is the first reported case of an isolated vesicocutaneous fistula related to previous radiation therapy for recurrent vulvar cancer. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Carcinoma of the vulva is an uncommon malignancy, but one that is amenable to early diagnosis if symptoms and signs are appropriately investigated. Although patient and physician delay remains common, an increasing number of patients are being diagnosed with early stage disease. This article is available only as a PDF....

Radiotherapy is the mainstay treatment for locally advanced carcinoma of the cervix. It is also administered as an adjuvant therapy to patients deemed at high risk for local recurrence after radical hysterectomy. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the...

The above article highlights the insensitivity of urine microscopy compared with the Combur 9 test for detecting haematuria associated with urinary calculi. In the article, the equivalent microscopic RBC values for the Combur 9 are given as 5/ml (typo? it should be 5/µl) and 10 /ml (?10/µl) for intact...

Significant technological advances have been made in the management of ureteric calculi. The newer semirigid, fibreoptic ureteroscopes can now be passed with minimal trauma and in many cases without dilatation. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Traumatic dislocation of the testes is uncommon. The first case was reported by Claubry in 1818 in Paris, when a 20-year-old soldier was run over by a wagon resulting in bilateral suprapubic dislocation of his testes. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on...

Patients with renal or ureteric colic are commonly seen at our Emergency Department. We routinely check their urine for haematuria using the Combur 9 test (Boehringer Mannheim, Germany) alone without doing urine microscopy unless the patient shows pyuria on the Combur 9 test. This article is available only as a...

Liver abscess traditionally has been treated by open surgical drainage, mortality rates being as high as 80% to 100% if left untreated. However, with the advent of modern non-invasive imaging techniques, percutaneous techniques performed under imaging guidance have, over the recent years, become increasingly acceptable as a suitable alternative...

Staging of disease is important. It serves as a guide for further management and also for comparing the results of treatment. Traditionally this has been used for malignant disease. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Multiple segment osteotomy (MSO) orthognathic surgery serves to combine total or segmental maxillary and mandibular correction of dentofacial deformities with concurrent diastematic procedures to provide immediate repositioning of dental-osseous elements. In addition, splitting the palate may often be necessary to correct a functionally poor relationship of the maxilla to...

Acute retention of urine (ARU) is the commonest urological condition requiring emergency admission to hospital and is usually managed by urethral catheterisation. Previously, patients with long-standing bothersome symptoms and who present with first episode of ARU were offered transurethral resection of prostate (TURP). This article is available only as a...

Dunnil and associates first described the association of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) and end stage renal disease. The incidence of ACKD in dialysis patients ranges from 10% to 90% depending on the duration of dialysis. This article is available only as a PDF. Please...

A characteristic feature of renal cell carcinoma is the development of tumour thrombus extending into the inferior vena cava (IVC). This takes place in 4% to 10% of cases. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

The management of the non-functional tuberculous kidney is controversial and ranges from surgical intervention to conservative treatment. Intra-renal scarring with stricture formation is common in the late stages of renal tuberculosis and results in greater loss of renal function than direct involvement by tuberculosis alone. This article is available only...

The treatment of urinary calculi has changed tremendously since the introduction of extra corporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL), percutaneous nephrostolithotomy (PCNL), and ureteroscopy over the past decade in our hospital. Patients previously requiring open surgical procedure are now treated successfully with these new therapeutic modalities. This article is available only as...

Haematuria of any degree should never be ignored and, in adults, it should be regarded as a symptom of urological malignancy until proven otherwise. Mariani et al, in their evaluation of 1000 consecutive patients, revealed life-threatening lesions in 9.1% of cases. This article is available only as a PDF. Please...

Nitric oxide (NO) has been recognised as a nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) inhibitory neurotransmitter at various sites in the nervous system. Its function as a NANC inhibitory transmitter has been documented in muscular and sphincter relaxation in the cardiovascular, digestive and urogenital system. This article is available only as a PDF....

The direct intraluminal (IL) administration of drugs into the intestine may have an important regional action and therefore clinical implications in the effective management of functional bowel disorders. We have previously published findings in the anaesthetised in vivo pig, that cisapride and mebeverine when infused IL into the sigmoid...

Castleman’s disease (CD) was first proposed by Castleman in 1954. It is usually found in the mediastinum, but other sites have been described. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

As the population is growing older and the society getting more affluent, people are aiming for a better quality of life. This has resulted in greater awareness of erectile dysfunction (ED), thus increasing the number of patients approaching the doctor for consultation. This article is available only as a PDF....

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication technologies to provide medical information and healthcare services. Early applications include medical use of the telephone and facsimile. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR, OMIM #193000), the name given to reflux of urine from the bladder into the ureter and towards the kidney, is believed to be due to a developmental abnormality of the ureteric bud during embryogenesis. Ureteral reflux has been known for centuries; in the 15th century Leonardo...

Bladder tumours frequently arise from the posterolateral wall of the bladder1 over the course of the obturator nerve. It is during transurethral resection of these tumours that direct electrical stimulation of the obturator nerve occurs. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top...

It is well known that T1 carcinoma of the prostate has varying biologic behaviour. Attempts to identify those at higher risk of progression have led to the subclassification into T1a (focal, low grade) and T1b (diffuse, high grade). This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download...

Bladder cancer is the sixth most frequent malignant disease in the world. Superficial stages of the tumour are found in 75% to 85% of cases upon first diagnosis. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Dear Editor, More than 2 years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, cases continue to climb despite global efforts at viral control. This is largely driven by the emergence of viral variants. In the later part of 2021, the Delta variant was the predominant variant circulating globally, and was...

Dear Editor, The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted global healthcare including paediatric solid organ transplantation (SOT). We report our experience of resuming paediatric living-donor SOT during COVID-19, which took into account safety considerations for living donors, paediatric recipients and the transplant healthcare team. The US Centers for Disease...

Oncocytomas are neoplasms characterised by large epithelial cells with finely granular eosinophilic cytoplasm called oncocytes. They were first described by Zippel in 1942 and have subsequently been identified in the thyroid, parathyroid, salivary and adrenal glands. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on...

The typical ureteric calculus presents with an acute onset of flank pain which may radiate to the groin. Intravenous urography (IVU) has classically been the gold standard for the diagnosis of urinary calculi. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view...

The introduction of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) in the 1980s revolutionised treatment of renal and ureteric calculi. Progress in the field of extracorporeal lithotripsy was paralleled by the introduction of smaller caliber ureteroscopes and various intracorporeal lithotripters. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF”...

Intravenous regional anaesthesia (IVRA) has a reported success rate of between 94% and 98% for upper limb surgery. Limitations to its use include the quality of intraoperative anaesthesia, tourniquet pain and lack of adequate postoperative analgesia. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on...

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer among men in the United States. In Singapore, it is the sixth most common incidence of cancer among males and the age-adjusted rates have risen from 8.2 to 9.6 per 100,000 per year between 1987 and 1992. This article is available only as...

Many medical schools worldwide have made the shift toward problem-based learning (PBL) medical education. Some of them employ these new techniques in only part of their teaching, and usually in the pre-clinical phases, to make basic sciences easier and more attractive. This article is available only as a PDF. Please...

Bladder carcinoma is the tenth most common cancer affecting men in Singapore. It is more common in men with an age-standardised incidence rate of 6.9 per 100,000 per year for men and 1.7 per 100,000 per year for women in Singapore. This article is available only as a PDF. Please...

Open surgical removal had been the standard treatment for urolithiasis till the early 1980s when introduction of percutaneous techniques and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) revolutionised stone management. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Adrenal myelolipoma is a rare, benign tumour, usually an incidental finding. Spontaneous retroperitoneal haemorrhage resulting from this tumour is rare. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Cystoscopy, supplemented by urine cytology, remains the gold standard in detecting primary and recurrent bladder cancer. Urine cytology, although highly specific, detects only 29% to 45% of bladder tumours and is subject to considerable inter- and intra-observer differences. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download...

Penile colour flow Doppler imaging (PCDI) is a non-invasive, accurate and cost-effective technique. It has better patient acceptance as compared to cavernosometry and cavernosography, and it does not involve any ionising radiation. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the...

Percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) is a well-established technique in the armamentarium of an interventional radiologist when dealing with urinary obstruction. It provides temporary relief in obstructive uropathy and stabilises the patients for subsequent definitive treatment. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to...

The perioperative management of surgery for laparoscopic resection of phaeochromocytoma presents a significant challenge. Many different anaesthetic techniques and drugs have been used to control the haemodynamic fluctuations during phaeochromocytoma resection. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full...

Over the last 70 years, transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) has been used in the surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and is still considered the gold standard. With improvements in operative techniques, video endoscopy, anaesthetic care and intraoperative monitoring of fluid and electrolytes, rates of intraoperative and...

Urodynamics or pressure flow studies (PFS) are defined as a functional assessment of the lower urinary tract (LUT) to provide a pathophysiological basis for urinary symptoms and signs. Advocates of PFS deem it a necessary investigation if continence surgery is contemplated, stating that the “bladder is an unreliable witness”...

Diaphragmatic rupture is a recognised consequence of high-velocity blunt trauma to the abdomen and chest and also has been reported in 0% to 5% of thoracoabdominal trauma patients. The diagnosis is often difficult and delay in diagnosis is implicated in increased morbidity and mortality. This article is available only as...

The presence of more than 2 testicles is called polyorchidism. It is a rare anomaly. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Leiomyomas of the urinary tract are exceedingly rare. They can, however, arise from almost any site within the genito-urinary tract, most commonly in the renal capsule and bilateral tumours are very rare. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the...

The introduction of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) by Chaussy and his co-workers in 1980 revolutionised the management of urinary calculi. Since then, ESWL has become the modality of choice of many urologists for proximal ureteric calculi. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on...

The management of necrotising pancreatitis has improved significantly over the last 2 decades, with a corresponding improvement in mortality rates. This improvement is largely attributed to advances in supportive therapy, diagnostic radiology and a better understanding of the pathophysiology of necrotising pancreatitis. This article is available only as a PDF....

Priapism is a pathological state of prolonged, generally painful erection, unassociated with sexual desire and not ending in ejaculation. Rare before the 1980s, this entity became more frequent after the introduction of vasoactive drugs for intracavernosal injections. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF”...

Hip fractures constitute a major health concern for older persons and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, with 1-year mortality rates ranging from 14% to 36% in spite of advancements in anaesthesia, surgical techniques and nursing care.1,2 In addition, epidemiological studies have shown that the incidence of hip...

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Singapore. The age standardised incidence rate is 45 per 100,000/year. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Teaching, training, appraising and assessing doctors and students are important for the care of patients now and in the future.1 In most hospitals, trainee surgeons play a substantial role in providing healthcare and surgical services, under the supervision of a consultant. The Departments of Hand Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery...

Cervical spondylosis is an extremely common condition managed by both physicians and surgeons in daily clinical practice. Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), resulting from longstanding degenerative impingement of the spinal cord and nerve roots by osteo-cartilagineous elements, is managed by conservative or surgical methods.1 While surgery is often performed in...

The delivery of good medical care and the safety of patients are of utmost importance in all healthcare systems. Indeed, healthcare providers need to rely on one anothers’skills to minimise risk and decrease the number of medical errors.1 This is of particular concern in the practice of obstetrics and...

Undergraduate medical education is considered a continuum leading into postgraduate training and ultimately medical practice.1 To this effect, it has been suggested that measures of performance of medical students and practising doctors should be aligned and the transition should be a smooth one. However, studies show a poor correlation...

High-grade glioma (malignant glioma) is the most common primary intra-axial tumour of the central nervous system (CNS). Despite recent therapeutic advances in glioma treatment, the outcome for high-grade glioma has been disappointing. The first reported case of glioma resection was performed by Rickman Godlee in 1884.1 More than a...

A 2.5-year-old boy was referred to our clinic for abnormal genitalia and a febrile urinary tract infection (Escherichia coli >105 colony-forming units/mL). At birth, his parents were informed that he had a “bilobed scrotum and a deep perineal skin pit” that may pose hygiene and cosmetic issues. They had...

A 36-year-old woman presented with a 4-month history of right neck lump. She had mild shortness of breath, but no dysphagia or voice changes. Clinical examination found a firm right thyroid mass that moved with swallowing, consistent with a right thyroid lesion. Ultrasound evaluation of the lump revealed a...

Dear Editor, Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) has become the treatment of choice for high-risk non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) worldwide.1 Unlike wide local excision, MMS enables precise microscopic removal of tumour foci while allowing maximal tissue preservation, thereby maintaining cosmesis and anatomical function.1 The MMS service in Singapore started in...

A 60-year-old previously healthy man with unremarkable medical history presented with a complaint of intractable flank pain for one day. The laboratory test results were within normal limits except for microscopic haematuria on urinalysis. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to...

The training of surgeons composed of two aspects: (1) Clinical skill and competence; (2) The ‘soft’ skill and ‘art’ of surgery. With the gradual introduction of residency programme into the surgical discipline, hopefully our clinical training will be more systematic, closely supervised, monitored, assessed and reassessed, and structured. This article...

Cancer data can be abstracted manually by cancer registrars or extracted automatically from the electronic medical systems. There may appear to be nothing in common between a manual Cancer Registry dealing with a few hundreds of new cases a year, and a large, highly computerised Cancer Registry as both...

Fournier’s gangrene is a surgical emergency. Treatment consists of fluid resuscitation, intravenous broad spectrum antibiotics and immediate surgical consultation with a view for early wound debridement and drainage. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.

Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), one of the most common diseases of ageing men, affects the quality of life by interfering with normal daily activities and sleep patterns. The current treatment options for patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of BPH mainly depend on the severity of the...

Overactive bladder (OAB) is characterised by feelings of urgency to urinate, with or without incontinence and is usually accompanied by frequency and nocturia. These symptoms are due to involuntary contractions of the detrusor muscle. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to...

The prognosis of patients with stage IV melanoma or recurrent melanoma is poor with an estimated median survival period of 6 months. The recent revised version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for cutaneous melanoma has further sub-divided melanoma metastatic sites to 3 specific categories;...

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a systemic disorder that presents acutely with multiple organ failure. Although defined classically as a syndrome with a pentad of features, it is accepted now that a diagnosis can be made with the dyad of microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia and thrombocytopenia. This article is available only...

Prostate cancer is now the third most common cancer among Singapore males, with a world age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) of 23.9 per 100,000 from 2003 to 2007. The average annual rate of increase between 1968 and 2002 was 5.6%, with a steeper increase seen in the last 10 years. This...

Despite the introduction of more potent and uroselective antimuscarinic agents, many patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity still suffer from refractory incontinence. Intradetrusor botulinum toxin injections had been shown to be safe and effective in treating such patients who had failed medical therapy. This article is available only as a PDF....

Submandibular masses are common presenting complaints in the outpatient setting. The differential diagnosis of a submandibular mass lesion can be salivary gland pathology, lymph nodal disease or soft tissue conditions. The more common submandibular gland pathologies include sialadenitis, sialolithiasis, pleomorphic adenoma, lymphoma and carcinomas. This article is available only as...

Emergency gastrectomy has been associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. These complications arise as a direct consequence following the procedure, such as duodenal stump leak and intra-abdominal collections, or more frequently, because of the resultant systemic complications. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download...

Dear Editor, The buccal space is an infrequently addressed fascial space of the head and neck region. Intrinsic tumours of the buccal space are rare and hence present a management challenge. In a recent systematic review of 217 patients, 4 main surgical approaches were identified (intraoral, extended parotidectomy/rhytidectomy, transcutaneous...

Hysteroscopy is an important surgical component of any training programme in gynaecology. Traditionally, surgical training in hysteroscopy occurred in the operating room where trainees first observe their senior performing the procedure, and then take on increasing roles in surgical cases under direct supervision. Often, hysteroscopic skills are acquired via a...

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the commonest diseases of ageing men. It can be associated with bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) that affect quality of life and it causes structural and functional changes in the bladder. Previous clinical guidelines had emphasised on managing symptoms; however current...

  Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common and severe cardiac arrhythmia. It affects 0.4% to 1% of the general population, and the prevalence of AF,1 which increases with age, is 8% in people aged over 80. About three-quarters of the cases are non-valvular AF. The risk for stroke in...

A 55-year-old Chinese woman presented to the ear, nose and throat clinic with a 6-month history of left-sided blood-stained mucus. It was dark brown with no epistaxis. There was no mucopus, nasal obstruction, facial pain or fever. She denies any history of hypertension, trauma, head and neck cancer, anticoagulation...

A fit and well 78-year-old woman with no significant past medical history presented to the Emergency Department with large painless perianal ulcers. It started as an erythematous patch that developed into pruritic perianal blisters, and rapidly evolved into a necrotic ulcer over 2 days. She denied any prior injury...

Dear Editor, Osteoarthritis of the big toe (hallux rigidus) is a common arthritic condition of the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ), beginning with stiffness, pain and inflammation. This subsequently progresses to restriction of movements especially dorsiflexion.1 Articular surface degeneration and formation of periarticular osteophytes may be seen on radiographs.2 Common...

Core temperature is the temperature of blood and internal organs; influenced by biorhythm, metabolism, activity and hormones. It is regulated within a narrow range, but this is impaired during general and/or neuraxial anaesthesia. Inadvertent peri-operative hypothermia is defined as a core temperature of <36C, the prevalence of which can...

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been shown to be safe and efficacious in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules. Ion agitation during RFA generates high temperatures between 60 and 100 degree Celsius to cause tissue damage and size reduction.   This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on "Download...

With improvements in device technology as well as increasing experience, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has replaced open surgical aortic valve implantation as the treatment of choice in severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) patients who have prohibitive and high surgical risks. TAVI has also gained increasing uptake in patients...

As infrastructure and policies were being put in place to combat COVID-19, we recognised that specialty-specific policies and protocols had to be drawn up as well. Similarly, the Renal Medicine Unit at the Singapore General Hospital, an academic medical centre, acted quickly to modify our services to (1) protect...