Renea Sturm

University of California, Los Angeles | UCLA · Department of Urology

Purpose The goal of this study was to evaluate the utilization and efficacy of intraoperative urine diversion with ureteral stent or nephrostomy tube (NT) during pediatric pyeloplasty. Materials and Methods The FPSC national billing database was queried to identify all pediatric pyeloplasties performed from 2009 to 2012. Patient variables, surgica...

Purpose: Children with bladder dysfunction leading to increased storage pressure are at risk for renal deterioration. The current gold standard evaluation is urodynamics, an invasive test requiring catheterization. The aim of this study was to evaluate ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) as a novel means to assess bladder biomechanical proper...

Substitution urethroplasty for the treatment of male stricture disease is often accompanied by subsequent tissue fibrosis and secondary stricture formation. Patients with pre-existing morbidities are often at increased risk of urethral stricture recurrence brought upon in-part by delayed vascularization accompanied by overactive inflammatory respon...

Complications associated with urinary bladder augmentation provide the motivation to delineate alternative bladder tissue regenerative engineering strategies. We describe the results of varying the proportion of bone marrow (BM) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to CD34 + hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) co-seeded onto synthetic POC [poly(1,...

Inflammatory bowel diseases are characterized by chronic inflammation, leading to the destruction of gastrointestinal tract tissue. Strategies specifically utilized to manage intestinal inflammation in patients afflicted with Crohn's disease (CD) are met with numerous obstacles. These include treatment‐specific physiological side effects and the de...

Extended Summary Background Although hypospadias outcomes studies typically report a level or type of repair performed, these studies often lack applicability to each surgical practice due to technical variability that is not fully delineated. An example is the tubularized incised plate (TIP) urethroplasty procedure, the most common hypospadias re...

In recent decades, reproductive science has revolutionized the options for biological parenthood for the 20–50% of infertility cases affected by male factors. However, current solutions exclude those who are infertile due to absent testicular tissue. This includes anorchic 46, XY individuals due to trauma or congenital factors and transgender men w...

BACKGROUND Nocturnal enuresis (NE) is a frequent diagnosis in the pediatric and adolescent populations with an estimated prevalence of around 15% at age 6 years. NE can have a significant impact on multiple domains of health. Bedwetting alarms, which typically consist of a sensor and moisture-activated alarm, are a common treatment. The OBJECTIVE...

Fibrous hamartoma of infancy (FHI) is a rare, benign soft tissue lesion observed in infants characterized histologically by triphasic appearance of bland fibroblastic fascicles, mature adipose tissue, and nodules of primitive myxoid mesenchyme. Preoperative and intraoperative recognition of FHI presents a significant diagnostic challenge due to non...

Introduction Robotic adoption has rapidly increased within urology. Initial uptake in adult urology has outpaced that seen in pediatric procedures. The aim of this study was to determine adult and pediatric urologist satisfaction with specific procedural steps in lower urinary tract reconstruction (LUTR) using an open versus robotic approach and de...

Purpose: Deferring bladder augmentation (BA) may be desirable in a pediatric neurogenic bladder (NGB) with worsening compliance, but prior studies have questioned whether onabotulinum toxin A (BTX) demonstrates durable improvement in compliance. We present our overall experience with BTX and its role in mitigating the "at-risk" NGB, as determined...

Introduction Biodesign innovation processes provide a needs-driven approach to medical innovation, empowering both medical trainees and health care providers to take action in addressing the shortcomings of health care encountered in daily clinical practice. Our objective was to uncover the most pressing unmet clinical needs within a specific clini...

Characterization of Peyronie’s disease (PD) involves manual goniometry and penile length measurement. These techniques neglect volume loss or hourglass deformities. Inter-provider variability complicates accuracy. Using 3D-printed models, we aimed to evaluate measurement accuracy and variability and establish computational assessment workflows. Fiv...

Objective To evaluate if ultrasound during urodynamics (uUS) will show that traditional ultrasound (tUS) routinely underestimates the potential magnitude of upper tract dilation (UTD). Methods Prospective pilot study of 10 consecutive patients ≥ 5 years of age undergoing same day uUS and tUS. Using randomized images the study pediatric radiologist...

Background Testicular torsion is a surgical emergency, and time to detorsion is imperative for testicular salvage. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients may delay emergency care due to stay-at-home orders and concern of COVID-19 exposure. Objective To assess whether emergency presentation for testicular torsion was delayed during the COVID-19 pan...

Congenital anomalies of the external genitalia (CAEG) are a prevalent and serious public health concern with lifelong impacts on the urinary function, sexual health, fertility, tumor development, and psychosocial wellbeing of affected individuals. Complications of treatment are frequent, and data reflecting long-term outcomes in adulthood are limit...

EXTENDED SUMMARY BACKGROUND A specific aspect of the hypospadias phenotype that may contribute to long-term outcomes is the presence of ventral penile curvature and the adequacy of its surgical correction. The current gold standard to assess this angle is intraoperative goniometry of an erect penis. 3-dimensional (3D) mapping technologies may overc...

Word Count: 248 Manuscript Word Count (text): 2986

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Work performed by the bladder can be measured by measuring the area under the curve of a urodynamic pressure volume curve. Work should be a better determinate of bladder dynamics than compliance. At the same time Shear wave elastography (SWE) has been introduced as a means of measuring the mechanical properties of detru...

Introduction: The traditional management paradigm for nonpalpable testis (NPT) has been that inguinal or scrotal exploration for a nubbin may be omitted when blind ending vessels are observed during diagnostic laparoscopy. Our aim was to examine whether blind ending vessels excluded the presence of a nubbin in a series of boys who underwent explor...

Introduction: Patient age and hospital volume have been shown to affect perioperative outcomes after pediatric pyeloplasty. However, there are few multicenter studies that focus on outcomes at teaching hospitals, where many of the operations are performed. Objective: The goal was to determine if surgical approach, age, case volume, or other fact...

Neurogenic bladder is a heterogeneous entity that may result from a variety of conditions affecting the central or peripheral nervous systems. Regardless of etiology, the overall goals of management are primarily two-fold. As a neurogenic bladder may affect the ability to store urine safely and to empty the bladder efficiently, early management is...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The successful application of bioengineered cell-seeded scaffolds to augmentation cystoplasty has been limited due to graft fibrosis and a lack of vascularization. We have previously demonstrated that a mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) seeded scaffold in a nonhuman primate (baboon) model improved restoration of bladder archi...

PURPOSE As children with neurogenic bladder managed by CIC transition to adulthood, an option is needed to increase independence and privacy. We hypothesized that placement of an indwelling urethral catheter during the daytime that is emptied on a regular schedule would be a safe alternative leading to improved quality of life. MATERIAL AND METHOD...

The prospective trial by Kim et al. “Can Bladder Wall Thickness Predict Videourodynamic Findings in Children with Spina Bifida?” published in Journal of Urology investigated the measurement of bladder wall thickness (BWT) as a non-invasive assessment tool for lower urinary tract changes in neurogenic bladder (NGB). In this study, no significant ass...

Controversy exists on the necessity for and timing of genitoplasty in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Our knowledge of surgical preferences is limited to retrospective series from single institutions and physician surveys, which suggest a high rate of early reconstruction. We evaluated current surgical treatment for congenital adrenal hy...

The literature on treatment of meatal stenosis is limited to single center series. Controversy exists regarding choice of meatotomy versus meatoplasty and need for general anesthesia. Our objective was to analyze treatment efficacy, current practice patterns and utilization of anesthesia. We hypothesized that meatoplasty would be associated with a...

Abstract Women who have sex with women (WSW) are a medically underserved population. Data on urologic health in WSW are scant. We hypothesized that the prevalence of urinary symptoms in WSW is similar to population norms and that urinary symptoms in WSW would be associated with known risk factors for urologic problems. WSW were recruited to partici...

To review the clinical outcomes of "ideal" vs "nonideal" postprostatectomy stress urinary incontinence (PPI) patients who underwent male sling placement. The medical records of 95 consecutive patients with PPI who underwent male sling insertion (AdVance male sling, American Medical Systems, Minnetonka, MN) were reviewed. Patients were divided into...

Introduction: Tobacco addiction has a strong social component. Therefore, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) may influence social behavior. Because the β4 nicotinic receptor subunit is important for possibly related behaviors, such as anxiety-like behavior and the effects of nicotine, we studied the social behavior of mice null for the β4 n...

In humans, tobacco withdrawal produces symptoms that contribute to the difficulty associated with smoking cessation. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms can also be observed in rodents. A major standing question is which nicotinic receptor subtypes and which areas of the brain are necessary for nicotine withdrawal to occur. Using knock-out mice, we previo...

: Among men with Peyronie's disease (PD), the degree of penile curvature has significant implications on psychological well-being, sexual function, treatment planning, and posttherapy evaluations. The primary objective of the current study was to correlate patients' estimates of penile angulation with objective measures. (i) Proportion of patients...